Avon Park Correctional Institution

Avon Park Correctional Institution is a Florida state facility for male inmates that is located in Avon Park, Florida. It has a capacity of 956, and it is a level IV facility that houses inmates of various custody levels.

Prison Insights

Visiting Hours and Rules

Before you can visit an inmate at Avon Park Correctional Institution, you must fill out a visitor application and be approved by the Florida DOC.

Regular visiting times are on Saturdays and Sundays from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Registration begins at 8:15 a.m. on both days. Visitors will not be processed after 2:00 p.m. unless authorized by the duty warden. Visitors will be allowed to park in designated spaces no earlier than 7:30 a.m. on visiting days.

Any minor visitor who is 17 or younger must be accompanied by an approved adult on the inmate's visiting list. 

Visit procedures

When you enter the search area, the officers will ask you a series of questions to make sure that you are not bringing in contraband. Examples of contraband are cell phones, drugs of any type, tobacco, and weapons. 

Anyone who is caught trying to bring in contraband is subject to arrest and may be charged with a third degree felony.

After a staff member has searched your authorized personal items, you will either walk through a metal detector or be scanned by a hand-held metal detector. Then, you will be required to pass the Magneto Static Detector (a machine that detects cell phones and other devices).

Next, you will go to a separate room for a clothed, pat search by a staff member of the same sex. You must remove all exterior clothing such as jackets, sweaters, scarves, and shoes before the pat search.

You may be directed to an area where a canine handler is present. The canine is trained in the detection of drugs and cell phones. If the canine alerts that contraband may be present, a more thorough search will be conducted to possibly include an unclothed search and a search of your vehicle.

Once you have cleared, you will then be permitted entrance into the visiting park. 

What you can bring to a visit

Visitors are not allowed to exchange or give anything to an inmate, so leave everything your vehicle except for the following items: money, car keys, and necessary medication.

Each visitor can bring up to $50 to the visiting park for snacks and beverages in $1.00, $5.00, $10.00, and $20.00 denominations only or silver change. You can also bring a small wallet or pouch to keep your money in.

You may also bring a car key. However, keyless entry devices are not permitted unless the duty warden or designee determines that it does not pose a threat to institutional security.

You may bring in medicationㅡbut only the dosage necessaryㅡand it must be in the original prescribed container and clearly marked. 

If you have a medical condition, such as diabetes, which requires injections, you will be permitted to leave the visiting park to take the necessary medications. Needles and syringes must be secured in your locked vehicle and are not permitted inside the visiting park for security reasons. 

You may bring the following items if you are bringing an infant to the visit:

A maximum of five diapers, three clear plastic baby bottles or two sipper cups for toddlers, one clear plastic baby pacifier, three clear plastic jars of baby food with the original seal intact, and baby wipes or towelettes (in a clear plastic bag). Also, you may bring in an infant baby carrier (subject to search), one set of infant clothing, and one non-quilted baby blanket to keep the infant warm.

Dress Code

Remember to always dress conservatively for a visit. You will be denied a visit if you are wearing any of the following items:

• Halter tops or bra-less attire
• Underwear-type t-shirts or tank tops
• Fishnet clothing
• Skin tight clothing
• Shoes with removable parts
• See-through fabric without an undergarment
• Dresses, skirts or shorts more than three inches above the knee
• Clothing with a threatening picture or language
• Camouflage
• Any clothing with metal

Always use the inmate’s committed name, DC number, and institutional address when addressing your letters.

All mail sent to inmates must go through the U.S. Postal Service. Any correspondence sent by courier or delivery services will be refused

You are not allowed to send mail in boxes, padded envelopes, plastic bags, multi-layer packaging,envelopes that include metal parts, any package containing bubble wrap or packing peanuts, or card stock type envelopes (i.e. U.S. Mail Priority or U.S. Mail Express card board type).

Inmates are allowed to receive the following items through routine mail:

• Letters which may be written on paper or greeting cards, but cards containing electronic or other non-paper parts, cards which are constructed in such a way as to permit concealment of contraband, or which are larger than 8"x10" will are not allowed.

Up to 15 pages of additional written materials is allowed per envelope. No item can be glued, taped, or stapled.

• You can send photographs, which are counted toward the 15 page additional materials limitation. However, nude photographs or photographs which reveal genitalia, buttocks, or female breast are not allowed. Polaroid photographs or pictures larger than 8”x10” are not permitted, either.
• Self-addressed stamped envelopes are allowed and they do not count toward the 15 page limitation for additional materials, but cannot exceed the equivalent of 20 (1 ounce) first class stamps.
• Blank greeting cards (no larger than 8"x10"), stationery, other blank paper, or envelopes. Stationery and blank paper must be white, off-white, or yellow. Card stock, sketch paper, and other types of craft paper may not be included.
• U.S. postage stamps. The value of the stamps cannot exceed the equivalent of 20 (1 oz.) first class stamps. These items do not count toward the 15 page limitation for additional materials.

How to Call an Inmate

You can’t call an inmate who is incarcerated at Avon Park. However, inmates can make phone calls during approved daytime hours. For complete details on how to call an inmate in Florida, please click here.

How to Send Money

The only way to send money to an inmate at Avon Park Correctional Institution is through JPay.

You can send money online with your credit or debit card at JPay.com or with the JPay mobile app that you can download from the Apple App Store (for iPhones) or Google Play (for Android phones).

You can send money to an inmate by phone by calling a live JPay call center agent 24/7 at (800) 574-5729.

If you want to use cash, you can visit any MoneyGram agent location (including all Walmarts and CVS Pharmacies) and use receive code 5188. Or, you can send a money order. All money orders must be made payable to JPay and sent with a deposit slip to:

JPay
P.O. Box 260010
Hollywood, FL 33026

If you use the money order method, funds will be available to the inmate within ten business days. Any money order, cashiers check, or certified bank draft in the amount of $400 or higher will have a ten day hold placed on the funds. After ten days, the funds will be available for the inmate's use.

Money order deposit slip available in English here.

Programs For Inmates

Academic Programs

• Adult Basic Education
• General Educational Development (GED)
• Special Education Services
• Title I Services

Vocational Programs

• Applied Welding Technology
• Welding Technology
• Automotive Service Technology
• Cabinetmaking
• PC Support Services
• Printing/Graphic Communications
• Turf Equipment Technology Maintenance

Substance Abuse Programs

• Intensive Outpatient Program
• Readiness Group Program
• Alumni Program

Chaplaincy Services

• Marriage and Family
• Parenting
• Islamic Taleem Studies
• Hispanic Bible Studies
• Evangelism Explosion
• Pacer Ministries Bible Studies
• Pentecostal Bible Studies
• 7th Day Adventist Bible Studies
• Kairos
• Worship Services

Institutional Betterment Programs

• Library Services
• Fitness
• Smoking Cessation
• Life Skills
• Alcoholics Anonymous
• Art
• Music Theory
• Community Preparedness
• Communication Skills
• Overcomers
• Personal Finances
• Ready to Work
• Conversational Spanish
• Anger and Stress Management
• Veterans Fellowship/Housing

Re-Entry Programs

• Transitional Fair
• Outside Agency Transitional Fair
• Re-entry Seminar
• 100-Hour Transition Program
• Self-study Transition Program
• Career Scope Assessments
• Re-entry Dormitories

Pictures of Avon Park Correctional Institution

Careers at Avon Park Correctional Institution

As Florida's largest state agency and the third largest prison system in the country, FDC employs 24,000 members. If you are interested in a career at Avon Park Correctional Institution, click here for more information and a list of job openings.