Everglades Correctional Institution

Everglades Correctional Institution is a Florida state prison for men that is located near Miami, Florida. It can house up to 1,788 inmates, and it is a level 5 facility that houses prisoners of all security levels, from minimum to maximum security.

Prison Insights

Visiting Hours and Rules

If you would like to visit an inmate at Everglades Correctional Institution, the first thing you need to do is get on their approved visiting list. To make this happen, you need to request that you be added to the list, and then the facility will send you a visitor applicationㅡwhich is available in both English and Spanish.

Once you receive your application, fill it out completely and then mail it back. Everyone 12 or older must complete this form in order to visit an inmate. The Florida Department of Corrections must approve your application before you are allowed to visit.

Visiting hours at Everglades Correctional Institution 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. and visitors will not be processed after 2:00 p.m. 

If a visitor is 17 or younger, they must be accompanied by an approved adult on the inmate’s visiting list.

Visit procedures

When you arrive for a visit at Everglades Correctional Institution, be prepared to answer a series of questions from officers and go through numerous searches. 

Registration begins with officers asking you about contraband, and then you will have your property searched before you go through a metal detector and a Magneto Static Detector (which detects cell phones). After that, you must go through a pat search before finishing up with a barrier search that is conducted by a canine handler. 

Do not attempt to bring in contraband. If you are caught with items like cell phones, tobacco, weapons, or drugs, you could be arrested.

After you have cleared all of these steps, you will be allowed to enter the visiting room at Everglades Correctional Institution.

What you can bring to a visit

You are only allowed to bring in money and a car key to the visiting room at Everglades Correctional Institution.

• Each visitor is allowed to bring a maximum of $50.00 ($1, $5, $10, and $20 denominations only or silver change) for the vending machines, and you can carry the money in a small wallet or pouch.
• Only one car key is allowed, no key chains or keyless entry devices.

There are a couple of exceptions to this rule. If you need medication during your visit, you are allowed to bring in the necessary dosage. Just remember to bring it in the original prescribed container and make sure it is clearly marked. 

If you have a medical condition which requires injections, you can leave the visiting room and take care of that in your vehicle, but you can’t bring in any needles or syringes into the visiting room.

You are allowed to bring the following items if you have an infant:

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

There is an extremely conservative dress code in the visiting room at Everglades Correctional Institution. If you wear any of the following items, you will not be allowed to visit.

• 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

Video Visitation

You must always include the inmate’s committed name, DC number, and institutional address on all correspondence.  All inmate correspondence must go through the US Postal Service (no UPS or FEDEX). 

You can send the following items in inmate mail:

• Letters no longer than 15 pages (You cannot glue, tape, or staple anything to the pages)
• Greeting cards, but nothing with electronic or non-paper parts
• Pictures, with the exception of nude photographs, Polaroids, or anything larger than 8”x10”
• A maximum of ten, blank, greeting cards, blank pieces of paper, or envelopes
• A maximum of twenty, first class stamps

Please do not send mail in boxes, padded envelopes, plastic bags, multi-layer packaging, or envelopes that include metal parts. Also, any package containing bubble wrap or packing peanuts or card stock type envelopes (U.S. Mail Priority or U.S. Mail Express card board type) will be rejected.

Do not send non-paper items or put stickers on the envelope or correspondence. 

There is also an email option available through JPay. 

How to Call an Inmate

Inmates at the Everglades Correctional Institution can’t receive phone calls, but they do have access to phones and can call approved numbers during daytime hours. For complete details on how to call an inmate in Florida, please click here.

How to Send Money

If you would like to send money to an inmate at Everglades Correctional Institution, you must use JPay or visit a MoneyGram location. With JPay, you can send money via their website, with their app, on the phone, or by mail. 

JPay Options

• Online or Mobile App: To send an inmate money with your credit or debit card, visit JPay.com or download the JPay Mobile App that is available at the Apple App Store (for iPhones) and Google Play (for Android phones).
• By phone: Call (800) 574-5729 to talk with a live JPay call center agent and send money with a debit or credit card. 
• Mail a money orderㅡmade payable to JPayㅡwith a deposit slip to:

JPay
P.O. Box 260010
Hollywood, FL 33026

Money order deposit slip available in English here.

Hoja de Depósito para Giros Bancarios disponible en Español aqui.

You can also visit a MoneyGram location (including all Walmarts and CVS Pharmacies) and use receive code 5188. With this method you can use cash.

Programs For Inmates

Academic Programs

• Adult Basic Education
• General Educational Development (GED)
• Volunteer Literacy Program

Substance Abuse Programs

• Pre-Treatment Motivation Program
• Intensive Outpatient

Chaplaincy Services

• Alcoholics Anonymous
• Bridge Builders
• Chapel Library Program
• Faith-Based Dormitory
• Kairos Week-ends
• Narcotics Anonymous
• Prison Fellowship Quarterly
• Purpose Driven Life
• Religious Education
• Way Home Bridge Builders
• Worship Services

Institutional Betterment Programs

• 100-hour Transition Program
• 5000 Role Models
• Active and Passive Sports
• Anger & Stress Management
• Children of Inmates
• Choice Program
• Criminom
• Essuba Program
• Fresh Start Smoking Cessation
• Law Library Program
• Library Program
• Lifer's Group
• Small Business
• Thinking for a Change
• Toastmaster Gavel Club
• Waste Water Treatment
• Wellness Education
• Yoga

Pictures of Everglades Correctional Institution

Careers at Everglades Correctional Institution

Florida Department of Corrections is the third largest prison system in the country, and this means that they offer numerous career opportunities in many different areas. You can find more information about a job at Everglades Correctional Institution by clicking here.