Patent ID: 7640190
Filing Date: 2009-12-29
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
1. A method for managing information with respect to a prison facility, said method comprising: providing an information management system integrating goods acquisition functionality and telephone calling functionality; establishing accounts associated with inmates of said prison facility; establishing an account for the benefit of a particular inmate comprising designating a responsible party, other than said particular inmate, to be contact for increasing said funds level when determined to be too low; using said information management system to conduct transactions associated with inmates of said prison facility, said transactions including at least goods acquisition and telephone calling services, wherein payment for said acquisition of said goods and said telephone calling services of ones of said transactions is provided using appropriate ones of said accounts; presenting a menu of available services to an inmate, the available services including initiating a telephone call, ordering physical goods from a commissary within the prison facility, and ordering selected physical goods for delivery to a person outside the prison facility; receiving a selection from the inmate indicating ordering of the selected physical goods for delivery to a person outside the prison facility; charging an appropriate one of said accounts associated with the inmate for the selected physical goods; determining when a funds level of a particular one of said accounts associated with a particular goods acquisition transaction is too low; detecting when the particular inmate places a call to said responsible party using said information management system; interrupting the call between the particular inmate and said responsible party to play a message soliciting additional funds from the responsible party; and delivering the selected physical goods to the person outside the prison facility, the person designed by the inmate.