Phone & Video in Iowa (Iowa DOC)
Iowa's communications run through Ameelio, a nonprofit provider used across all nine prisons for video calls, voice calls, and electronic messaging, with video and visit scheduling handled in the Ameelio Connect app.
How Ameelio works
Iowa DOC’s communications provider is Ameelio, a nonprofit that operates across all nine state prisons. To use it, families set up an account through the Ameelio Connect app, available for iOS and Android. The app is mobile-only and is not used on a computer.
Setting up an account follows these steps:
- Download the Ameelio Connect app and create an account.
- Verify your identity (the app requests a government-issued photo ID and a selfie).
- Add the incarcerated individual as a contact, identified by facility and ID number.
- Wait for the Iowa DOC to approve the contact before scheduling or connecting.
Each visitor age 13 and older completes this setup. Have the incarcerated individual’s full name and Iowa DOC offender number ready when adding the contact.
Video visits
Video visits are scheduled and connected through the Ameelio Connect app. After your contact request is approved, you can schedule a session with the incarcerated individual. Video visiting is a separate process from in-person visiting at the facility.
The Ameelio Connect app is also being used for in-person (on-site) visit scheduling, which has been rolling out facility by facility. Because the schedule and what is available differ by facility, confirm the current options for the specific institution before booking.
Voice (phone) calls
Voice calls run through Ameelio, and the Iowa DOC and Ameelio describe voice calls as offered free to families. As with phone systems generally, the incarcerated individual places the call to an approved contact; families set up an account and cannot call in.
Iowa’s per-minute phone-cost picture is unsettled. Legacy third-party data from an earlier phone vendor still circulates and conflicts with the free-call description, so the current per-minute rate is not stated here. Confirm what applies — and whether all calls are handled through Ameelio — with the Iowa DOC or Ameelio before relying on a specific cost.
Electronic messaging
Electronic messaging for approved contacts is also provided through Ameelio. The Iowa DOC family-services materials list Ameelio as the messaging service for approved contacts. As with video and voice, messaging is set up and used through the Ameelio account once a contact is approved.
Tablets
Ameelio supplies tablets to the Iowa system per the provider. The official Iowa DOC materials do not describe a tablet program in detail, so confirm what is available — and how tablets are used for calls and messaging — with the Iowa DOC or Ameelio before relying on specific tablet features.
Verify Before Acting
Sources
This page is compiled from the following publicly available sources. Policies change without notice — confirm current details with the facility before relying on them.