Truth be told, what usually happens is that they put them where ever they have room to put them and where ever there are appropriate programs to put them in to. Sometimes they will make an effort to transfer an established inmate closer to home or to an institution with a particular vocational program they want to enter if they request it, but the guys who are new to the system generally go where ever there is room for them. At the reception centers, each inmate is screened and given a security classification, anywhere from minimum security to maximum, and this has a lot to do with where they are permanently assigned. And each institution has a security classification, depending on what class of inmates they are equipped to handle. The institution where I worked was designated as "Close Security" (one notch down from Maximum Security), meaning that we could be sent any inmates from Trustees up to Close Security but not Maximum. If they became Maximum Security while they were there because of something they had done, we held them there until a slot opened up for them in one of the Maximum Security institutions. And each institution has only a certain number of slots for inmates in each security designation because of the available number of jobs to put them in. What jobs they can perform depends on their security classification. So there's a whole lot that goes in to it and unfortunately making visiting more convenient for the family is down at the very bottom of their priority list. If he's there any length of time, there's a possibility that he can request a transfer, but don't bet on it. And if his time is very short, there is also a good possibility that he will be kept at the reception center for the duration too. And we've had many that spent as long as a year at the reception center before they were ever permanently assigned to another institution. You just never know.
