Blue Earth County Jail Remote Inmate Video Visits

Blue Earth County Jail

Address:
401 Carver Road
Mankato, MN 56002-0228
Phone:
507-304-4830

Schedule a Video Visit with an Inmate at the Blue Earth County Jail - Remotely or at the Jail

The Blue Earth County Jail believes in the importance of their inmates having an opportunity to have visits from family and friends. When an inmate is released he or she needs to return home, and closeness to their family is one of the strongest reasons that keeps them from getting in trouble again.

One way that Blue Earth County Jail is able to accomplish this is with Reliance remote video visitation. Remote visiting allows loved ones to use their phone or computer to connect directly with their inmate via a video kiosk in the jail or using tablets, all in a joint effort between the facility and Reliance.

The benefits of video visitation are:

• It keeps inmates happy.
• Allows the inmates to stay in touch with friends, family and children.
• It saves on staff time, thus money.
• Allows the jail to partake in a revenue share.
• Keeps viruses from spreading.
• Keeps contraband from entering the facility.

For more information on Reliance video visits and video messages, call the facility at 507-304-4830 or scroll down for a complete section of Frequently Asked Questions and Answers.

Video Calls from an Inmate at the Blue Earth County Jail

Blue Earth County Jail uses the services of Reliance Telephone for video (visit) phone calls and for emailing/texting to inmates.

Note: This option may not be available for your inmate. When registering, check to see if devices are available.

• Known as the 'Reliance Inmate Wallet', it makes funding jail communication easy. 
• Payments made into an 'Inmate Wallet' account are linked to a dedicated telephone number for inmates who rent one of their Reliance Tablet Phones.
• Inmate Wallet funds can be used for personal inmate text messaging, voice calls and video calls. 
• The cost of this is $4.00 per month for rental of the Reliance Tablet Phone + $0.25 per minute for video and voice calls.

Blue Earth County Jail ON-SITE (at the jail) VIDEO VISITATION SCHEDULE

401 Carver Road
Mankato, MN 56002-0228
507-304-4830

Schedule Video Visits online with Reliance

• On-site Visits are free.
• Visits are 30 minutes.
• Visitation schedule subject to change.
• Inmates are allowed one visit per day however the weekly limit is determined by the inmates classification.
• A maximum of 2 guests are allowed per an on-site video session.
• All visits must be made at least 24 hours in advance.

ON SITE VISITATION SCHEDULE

Blue Earth County Jail REMOTE (at home) VIDEO VISITATION SCHEDULE

Schedule Remote Video Visit with Reliance

• All visits must be scheduled at least 24 hours in advance.
• Remote visits are charged a fee of $0.25 per minute.
• Visitation Schedule subject to change.

REMOTE VISITATION SCHEDULE

Attorneys have access to their clients during the following times:

7:00AM - 9:30AM
12:00PM - 3:30PM
​​​​​​​6:00PM - 8:50PM

• Inmates cannot be seen during mealtimes, lockdowns and emergency situations.
• Attorneys may call 507-304-4830 for questions or appointments.

Remote Video Visiting an Inmate who is in the Blue Earth County Jail

Frequently Asked Questions about Remote Video Visits

What is a video visit, and how do they work?

Who are the companies that facilitate video visits?

What is a video visit, and how do they work?

Video visitation, also known as remote visitation, is quickly becoming the preferred method for visiting an inmate in jail or prison for the following reasons:

•    It requires little to no staff, versus the staff required to move inmates to and from the visit and watch over the visit. It saves the Blue Earth County Jail money.
•    It removes any opportunity for contraband (drugs) to enter the facility.
•    It can become a profit center for the facility, given that the revenue generated by visits is shared with the jail.
•    While inmates prefer to see family and friends in person, video visitation allows them to visit with them more often, and on a whim.
•    Video visitation gives the inmates and their visitors the feeling of more privacy.

Video visitation from the perspective of the visitor allows them to visit from their home, their car, at work, and even allows them to take their device to a family or religious gathering. It allows them to give their inmate the feeling of belonging and not being forgotten.

Video visitation can take place on a computer, a tablet or a phone. 

Video visitation saves time. Instead of spending hours driving to the jail, checking in, filling out paperwork, potentially being searched, waiting, and then having a 15–30-minute visit, if it isn’t cancelled at the last minute, the visit can be done from anywhere during a short break in the visitor’s day.

If the visitor does not have access to a phone or computer, they can make an appointment ahead of time and use terminals in the lobby of the jail.

You must also be on the inmate's approved list, even for a video visit.

Who are the companies that facilitate video visits?

There are several different companies that contract with all the jails and prisons that allow video visitation:

These are the companies in alphabetical order:

CIDNET
City Tele Coin
Correct Solutions Group
Correct Pay
Ctel
Gettingout
GTL
Homewav
IC Solutions
Inmate Canteen
Inmate Sales
iwebvisits
JailATM
Jpay
Gettingintouch (netvisit)
NCIC
Prodigy Sales
Reliance
Securus
Smart Communications
Tiger Services
Visitel
In addition, some jails use Microsoft Meeting and Zoom.