Anthony P. Travisono Intake Service Center

Rhode Island's jail — where every committed man enters the system, with a walk-in courtesy visit for first-time visitors and evening visiting hours.

Overview

The Anthony P. Travisono Intake Service Center is the front door of Rhode Island’s entire correction system. Because Rhode Island’s unified system puts jail and prison in one department, every man who is arrested and held — and every newly sentenced man awaiting classification — comes here, a maximum-security facility holding around 850 men whose population turns over constantly: roughly 8,800 commitments a year, awaiting-trial stays averaging several weeks (RIDOC’s posted figures range from 27 to 48 days), and a steady stream of transfers out to the campus’s other facilities. It opened in 1982, grew a second wing in 1992, and was renamed in 2010 for Anthony P. Travisono, the department’s first director.

For families this is usually where the hardest stretch happens — the first days after an arrest — and the facility’s own guide acknowledges the volatility: visits run by housing unit, and when someone is moved, their visiting day moves too. Calling (401) 462-2285 before traveling is RIDOC’s own published advice.

What Makes the Intake Service Center Different

• The walk-in courtesy visit. A first-time visitor not yet on anyone’s list can call or simply arrive, present ID, and — after clearing an on-the-spot state records check — receive a one-time courtesy visit while the full national check finishes. No other ACI facility publishes that on-ramp.
• Evening visiting runs late — four periods spread across afternoon and evening, the last ending at 8:45 p.m.
• No visits on Wednesdays, and the four daily periods rotate among housing units — the monthly PDF plus the person’s unit assignment determine the day.
• Money has a grace period: for the first 30 days after commitment, anyone can deposit money — after that, deposits require being on the visiting list, per the rules in Sending Money.
• Awaiting-trial men are not charged medical co-pays, and emergency medical services are available around the clock, per RIDOC’s posted family guide.
• Two short video-visit windows run inside each visiting period, booked through Securus by housing-unit slot.

Visiting Hours and Procedures

The statewide rules above — the visiting list, dress code, ID, and screening — apply at the ISC, with the courtesy-visit exception for first-timers. What follows is specific to this facility.

An older official family guide describes ISC visits as up to an hour and 15 minutes with a brief greeting hug; the current posted schedule doesn’t state a session length, so treat the booking-window times as the controlling rule. The full approval-list process, dress code, and entry rules are in Visiting in Rhode Island.

Getting There and Parking

RIDOC’s published directions: I-95 to Exit 14 (14B northbound), Route 37 West to Exit 3 (Pontiac Avenue), left at the end of the exit, right onto Howard Avenue at the third light — past Minimum Security, the four-way stop, and the administration buildings; the ISC entrance is on the right, clearly marked though the building isn’t visible from Howard Avenue.

Distances are approximate, based on map routing. RIDOC publishes no visitor parking details for the ISC.

Nearby Services

The Chapel View retail area on Sockanosset Cross Road — coffee shops, fast food, a Panera — is about a mile away, with gas stations on Pontiac and Oaklawn Avenues. Lodging clusters near T.F. Green Airport in Warwick a few miles south, including a Hampton Inn & Suites on Post Road. Kent Hospital in Warwick, about 10 minutes away, runs an emergency department staffed around the clock; Rhode Island Hospital in Providence is the state’s only Level I trauma center.

Learn More

For detailed information about visiting and communicating with someone at the ACI:

• Visiting in Rhode Island — the 9-name list, the courtesy visit, and entry rules
• Mail & Packages — addressing mail to the facility’s post office box
• Phone & Video Calls — the Securus system
• Sending Money — the 30-day deposit grace period after commitment
• Medical & Mental Health — no co-pays while awaiting trial; the Patient Liaison line
• Transfers — where people go from intake, and how to track the move