Systems and methods for transaction and information management

Abstract

Systems or methods for managing transactions within a controlled environment facility provide an information management engine integrating transaction functionality and telephone calling functionality, establish an account associated with a resident of the controlled environment facility, and use the information management engine to conduct transactions associated with residents of the controlled environment facility. The transactions include at least requests, by the resident, for deposits into the account by a party outside of the controlled environment facility. The systems or methods accept requests from the resident and utilize the telephone calling services of the information management engine to facilitate the request for deposit. The systems or methods may place calls to the individuals outside the controlled environment facility to interact with the individual, request the deposit and accept such deposits.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method, comprising:
 performing, by one or more computer systems,   receiving a first communication from a resident of a correctional facility, the first communication including a request that a non-resident of the correctional facility deposit money into a commissary account;   in response to receiving the first communication, initiating a second communication to the non-resident, the second communication distinct from the first communication, the second communication requesting that the non-resident provide financial information that enables the deposit of the money into the commissary account; and   in response to the non-resident providing the financial information, causing the money to be deposited into the commissary account based, at least in part, upon the financial information.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second communications are telephone communications. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first communication is a telephone communication and the second communication is an electronic message. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first communication is an electronic message and the second communication is a telephone communication. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second communications are electronic messages. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first communication is received in response to a determination by the one or more computer systems that an account balance associated with the commissary account is below a predetermined level. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 performing, by the one or more computer systems,   collecting investigative data regarding the request.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the investigative data includes at least one of: an amount of the request, a date of the request, or a date of the deposit. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the investigative data includes an identity of the non- resident. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 performing, by the one or more computer systems, initiating the second communication in response to at least one of: (i) a determination that the resident is allowed to request the deposit from the non-resident, or (ii) a determination that the request includes an amount below a predetermined limit.   
     
     
         11 . A system, comprising:
 at least one processor; and   a memory coupled to the at least one processor, wherein the memory is configured to store program instructions, and wherein the program instructions are executable by the at least one processor to cause the system to:   receive a first communication from a resident of a correctional facility, the first communication including a request that a non-resident of the correctional facility deposit money into a commissary account associated with the resident;   determine that the resident is allowed to request the deposit from the non-resident;   initiate a second communication to the non-resident, the second communication distinct from the first communication, the second communication requesting that the non-resident provide financial information that enables the deposit of the money into the commissary account; and   cause the money to be deposited into the commissary account based, at least in part, upon the financial information.   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein at least one of the first or second communications is a telephone communication. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein at least one of the first or second communications is an electronic message. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein one of the first or second communications is a telephone communication and the other is an electronic message. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the program instructions are further executable by the at least one processor to cause the system to initiate the second communication in response to a determination that the request includes an amount below a predetermined limit. 
     
     
         16 . A computer-readable storage medium having program instructions stored thereon that, upon execution by one or more computer systems, cause the one or more computer systems to:
 receive a first communication from a resident of a correctional facility, the first communication including a request that a non-resident of the correctional facility deposit money into a commissary account maintained for the benefit of the resident;   determine that the resident is allowed to request the deposit from the non-resident;   determine that the request includes an amount below a predetermined limit;   initiate a second communication to the non-resident, the second communication distinct from the first communication, the second communication requesting that the non-resident provide financial information that enables the deposit of the money into the commissary account; and   cause the money to be deposited into the commissary account based, at least in part, upon the financial information.   
     
     
         17 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 16 , wherein the first and second communications are telephone communications. 
     
     
         18 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 16 , wherein the first communication is a telephone communication and the second communication is an electronic message. 
     
     
         19 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 16 , wherein the first communication is an electronic message and the second communication is a telephone communication. 
     
     
         20 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 16 , wherein the first and second communications are electronic messages.