Holton Conservation Camp #16

Visiting Holton Conservation Camp #16

This is what the institution publishes, in the order you will meet it: when visits run, how to get approved, how to book, when to arrive, where to report, what you may carry in and who may come with you.

When visits run

Conservation camps continue hybrid video visiting and in-person visiting on Saturdays and Sundays, subject to current status.

Getting approved first

You have to be an approved visitor before you can book anything. Approval starts with a Visitor Questionnaire, CDCR Form 106.

How to get the form: You cannot download it and send it yourself. The incarcerated person has to send the form to you, and they must sign it first — that signature is what confirms they want you added to their visiting list.

Filling it in: Fill it in completely. The questionnaire asks for every criminal conviction AND every arrest, including arrests that never led to a charge. CDCR runs a background check and will deny approval if the check turns up something the form left out, so list everything. If you cannot recall the details of an old arrest, give the approximate date and the reason as precisely as you can.

Where to send: Mail the completed questionnaire to the Visiting Sergeant or Lieutenant at the institution where the person is housed, addressed to the attention of “Visiting”.

Warning: Most prisons use a DIFFERENT address for mail to staff than for mail to an incarcerated person. Use the staff address. A questionnaire sent to the inmate mail address does not reach Visiting.

What not to do: Do not send the questionnaire to the incarcerated person. It will not be accepted.

How long: Processing time varies by institution, depending on how many forms it receives and how many staff are cleared to review them. CDCR publishes no standard turnaround.

Booking a visit

Fire camps do not use VSA. In-person visits are booked Monday-Friday by phone/email for that weekend; video requests are emailed from 8 a.m. Saturday through 8 a.m. Monday for the following weekend.

Non-contact and restricted-housing visits

Non-contact visiting is not a choice — it is what applies while someone is in reception (newly admitted to CDCR, or just transferred between prisons) or is segregated.

Who: Reception status, Administrative Segregation, Security Housing Units, Adjustment Centers, someone pending specific rules-violation charges, or anyone assigned to a Behavior Management Unit.

Conditions: The visit happens through a glass partition. Staff escort the incarcerated person in handcuffs, and the handcuffs come off only once they are secured on their side of the booth.

With children: If you would rather a child did not see someone in restraints, wait away from the booth until they are settled.

Limits: Three visitors, not five. Length is limited — usually one to two hours, depending on the prison and on why the visit is non-contact.

How early to arrive

Visitor processing starts at the posted visiting start time and continues until one hour before the posted end time. Adults complete a pass; visitors and possessions undergo security screening.

Where to report

Visitors check in at processing, submit a pass, undergo approval/eligibility checks, clear property screening and a metal detector, receive a UV hand stamp, and proceed to the assigned visiting room.

Identification

Adults must present valid, current, unexpired photo identification; accepted forms include state driver licenses/IDs, military ID, ICE ID, U.S. passport, or qualifying foreign passport/consular ID.

How many people may visit

General-population in-person visits allow up to five visitors; non-contact visits allow up to three and are usually one to two hours.

Bringing a child

Adults list accompanying minors on the visiting pass. Minors undergo security screening, and CDCR allows specified infant/toddler supplies.

What not to wear

CDCR bars attire resembling incarcerated-person, law-enforcement, military, or staff clothing and clothing that violates its modesty/safety rules.

What stays in the car

Only specifically authorized items may enter. Visitors and property are searched; drugs, weapons, and unapproved items are prohibited.

Source: CDCR · CDCR — How to Get Approved to Visit an Incarcerated Person · CDCR · CDCR · CDCR · CDCR · CDCR

Phone calls and money

Phone calls

Most incarcerated people initiate outgoing calls. Since January 1, 2023, state-prison audio calls are free to both sides and limited to 15 minutes.

Putting money on the books

Funds may be sent by fee-based EFT (GTL/ConnectNetwork, JPay, Access Corrections), the no-fee JPay lockbox, or check/money order to the institution; holds, limits and restitution deductions apply.

Source: CDCR · CDCR

Inside the institution

How it is laid out

Located on a former probation-camp site in Sylmar and organized around supervised incarcerated fire crews; it also prepares food supplies for LACFD incident personnel.

Security levels

Minimum-security conservation camp; CDCR states all conservation camps are minimum-security facilities staffed with correctional staff.

Source: CDCR · CDCR

Programmes and release

Education, training and work

Substance-use and religious programs, GED and Coastline Community College courses, self-help and leisure activities.

Preparing for release

Pre-release classes and emergency/work assignments are intended to prepare participants for successful community integration.

Source: CDCR