The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department operates jail facilities located throughout the County of Los Angeles, which encompasses more than 4,000 square miles. Currently, in order to visit an inmate incarcerated in the jail system, family members must transport themselves to the facility where the inmate is located and wait in line for an opportunity to visit, which is not guaranteed in the “first-come-first-served” system. In some cases, families, including young children, must travel nearly 100 miles, arrive very early in the morning and wait in line for hours, never being sure they will even get to visit their loved one. A visit scheduling and reservation system would guarantee their visiting time and eliminate long waits in line. A video visiting system would allow them to visit an inmate located at a remote facility, from a local facility, or even their own home, eliminating long drives. Based on this, the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department is exploring the possibility of obtaining grants funding to implement this project. Does anybody know of any grant sources that might fund such a project? Thanks in advance for your assistance. (This could have positive implications for ADA, Traffic Reduction, Mothers/Fathers with Children, the Elderly, etc.)
Also, does anybody know of available systems, or vendors, that provide these capabilities?