Pleasant Valley State Prison info

**Mystic Mo** · 11-21-2003 02:36 PM

Inmatefamilycouncil - PVSP IFC MEETING ON 11/14/03

Greeting to all...

I have not posted because I have not had much to post. The IFC for Pleasant Valley State Prison did not meet in the month of October.
We met yesterday and were introduced to the new warden, Jim Yates. He seemed to be fair and honest was up front about the changes being made statewide and how PVSP would be affected.
Item 1: The Vendor Package deal has been resolved (PVSP) we will be using the following three (3) vendors.
1. Access.....www.californiaqp.com
2. PackagesRUs...www.packagesrus.com
3.Impackt....www.impackt.com (website should be up and running soon)
A cost analysis was made and these were the three companies that were most competitive. MAC and IFC has approved of these vendors and VQP (vendor quarterly package) will begin in Jan of 2004.
While we all wish that we could continue to use personal packages, we now know for certain, ALL 32 prisons will shift over to the VQP effective the same date (01/01/04). The important thing to keep in mind is that the staff which normally handled QP will cease to exist on 12/31/03. Their will no longer be CO's assigned to QP, instead the package companies have a security clearance and will be closely watched by state and federal officers. Random checks of the warehouses will be made to assure quality control. Further, once the package is ordered, the company will give the package a number and the package will remain anonymous until it reaches the institution. Guards will not go through the packages and they will be identified and given to the inmate as is. Only consumables and perishables will be included in the VQP, clothing items, etc will be purchased via special order. Items that are high demand can very easily be added to all three vendors’ lists, you simply tell the inmate to submit the product to the MAC and they will make sure to add the items. Every effort to add items immediately WILL be made. There is no shipping charge and all packages are next day air and guaranteed, none will be returned if damaged. All inmates will receive catalogs and can make the purchase through their accounts, or families can shop online. Forgive me if I have missed anything, but I can any questions that come up, just let me know.
While I understand that there is always resistance to change and a large amount of distrust exists, we at the IFC PVSP believe that the officers at PVSP have offered a good VQP program and we have faith that the program will be successful. As in all, there may be quirks in beginning, but the warden has assured us he is very supportive of addressing and correcting things as they come up.
Item 2: CDC new clothing....yes, they are ugly. The new clothes are available now at PVSP and are being distributed on an attrition basis. Those who have personal clothing will still be allowed to wear them and there have not been many complaints as of yet at PVSP. However, if it begins to be an issue, the warden has stated that in the interest of fairness he be inclined to require that all inmates switch over...so please don't complain...you still can send a pair of jeans to your loved one through December...so if it's an issue for you, send them.

Item 3: Community crews...other prisons will be ending the crews...PVSP WILL NOT. Community crews will continue as usual.
Item 4: IFC....we will continue to have an IFC at PVSP and the warden is a supporter of it. We may have our meetings on Sat after Friday visiting is deleted. Which the warden confirms is slated to happen 01/01/04, per legislative orders in the new budget signed by Gov Davis.
Item 5: At our next meeting we will have a tour of the mail room...
All in all the meeting went well and was productive. We will meet again on DEC 12; however the only item on the agenda is tour of the mail room.
And finally, on a sad note, we will all be losing our CRM...for us it Al Bonilla, who has been very helpful to many inmate families at PVSP. If in fact he does leave, he will be greatly missed.
If you have any questions please feel free to post them. Also I don't mind if you take this posting and send it along to other groups.
I'm sure I have forgotten something...For now...everyone be well...and let's pray that this prison reform that seems imminent will somehow help all the lifers...my guess is, it will.