California Department of Corrections

Did you realize the California Department of Corrections has:

33 state prisons
40 camps
12 community correctional facilities
5 prisoner mother facilities
316,299 inmates under its jurisdiction
It costs, on the average, $49,000 per year per inmate!

California has the largest prison system in the US. Its website is huge, too. Here are some of the most helpful links that most people looking for inmates want to know:

How do I visit someone? What are the rules? Here is a PDF file published by the California Dept of Corrections that answers these questions: Click here to read the PDF in your browser, or right-click to download it.
Family and friends can only order from approved vendors to ship items to California inmates. See this list of approved inmate package vendors.
Do you have a question about sending money to an inmate? How to send a check or money order or send money by electronic transfer is found here: How to Send Money
Questions about receiving collect calls from inmates? See this page: Receiving Calls from Inmates
Here is a great program that offers free transportation for the children and their caregivers to the prison, provides travel bags for the children, comfort bags for the caregivers, a photo of each child with his or her parent, and meals for the day (breakfast, snacks on the bus, a special lunch at the prison with their parent and dinner on the way home), all at no cost to the children’s family. Get all the information here: Get On The Bus Program

Return from Department of Corrections to California Inmate Locator
Return from California Department of Corrections to The Free Inmate Locator