No matter how long your sentence is, once you arrive in county jail – especially for someone who has never been incarcerated, the noise and confusion is overwhelming.
Most likely, you have not slept well, have been woken up multiple times throughout the night, and are not eating well. One of the most important contacts to make is the person who is responsible for addressing your concerns (problems with other inmates, specific requests, questions about your sentencing, etc.). These contacts are not correctional officers, but more closely related to social workers and work within your pod (typically throughout the week, but not every day).
They can be referred to be a variety of names, but typically they are Case Managers. Knowing your case manager and getting them to know you is an important step for when you have questions or issues later on (and you will).
Remember that nothing happens quickly in jail and you may request for a meeting and not hear back immediately. One of the challenging parts of managing interaction with correctional staff is to balance out the need to keep following up (until your question or issue is resolved), but not in a way that makes you a nuisance to them.
The case manager is there to help you get answers to questions and likely one of the few people you will interact with (from staff) that can make things happen.
If you have a loved on incarcerated in county jail or a state or federal prison and have issues or questions, contact us for a free, no-obligation consultation.