TDCJ to replace four legacy inmate-finance systems with $5.3 million turnkey platform
June 19, 2026 | Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), Departments and Agencies, Executive, Texas
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Jennifer Gonzalez, director of TDCJ's Business and Finance Division, told the Board of Criminal Justice the agency has awarded a turnkey contract to Advanced Technology Group for a fully integrated inmate banking, commissary point-of-sale, trust-fund and parole-fee management platform.
"This project will enhance services for inmates, parolees, and our staff," Gonzalez said, describing a migration away from four separate legacy systems to a single cloud-based platform. The contract, awarded in August 2025, carries a $5.3 million base price and makes the vendor responsible for configuration, testing and statewide training.
Gonzalez told the board the system will deliver several visible customer-facing changes: prepaid debit cards loaded with a person's trust-fund balance and discharge funds at release to reduce check-cashing hassles; tablet-based commissary ordering (a pilot at Bartlett unit); electronic trust-fund statements available on tablets; and real-time posting for parole payments via online payments and 35 high-traffic parole-office kiosks.
The change from overnight batch cycles to real-time data also promises operational efficiency for staff, Gonzalez said. "One of the most significant improvements is real-time data," she said, noting that staff will no longer rely on overnight batch cycles for current balances.
Board members pressed on schedule and cost. Gonzalez described milestones completed so far: vendor selection in June 2025, contract award in August, completion of system configuration in May, and current user-acceptance testing. Training is planned to begin in August and the go-live target is September 2026, with some program components continuing into November 2026.
Chairman Eric Nichols and other members praised the move as modernization that reduces paper processes and administrative friction. Gonzalez acknowledged the project team and singled out commissary and trust-fund staff and IT project managers for their role in combining the four systems.
What happens next: staff will continue UAT and vendor-led training; the board will receive project updates as the agency approaches statewide cutovers. The board also approved a separate slate of purchases and renewals which included the new platform as part of the package of contracts presented the same day.
"This project will enhance services for inmates, parolees, and our staff," Gonzalez said, describing a migration away from four separate legacy systems to a single cloud-based platform. The contract, awarded in August 2025, carries a $5.3 million base price and makes the vendor responsible for configuration, testing and statewide training.
Gonzalez told the board the system will deliver several visible customer-facing changes: prepaid debit cards loaded with a person's trust-fund balance and discharge funds at release to reduce check-cashing hassles; tablet-based commissary ordering (a pilot at Bartlett unit); electronic trust-fund statements available on tablets; and real-time posting for parole payments via online payments and 35 high-traffic parole-office kiosks.
The change from overnight batch cycles to real-time data also promises operational efficiency for staff, Gonzalez said. "One of the most significant improvements is real-time data," she said, noting that staff will no longer rely on overnight batch cycles for current balances.
Board members pressed on schedule and cost. Gonzalez described milestones completed so far: vendor selection in June 2025, contract award in August, completion of system configuration in May, and current user-acceptance testing. Training is planned to begin in August and the go-live target is September 2026, with some program components continuing into November 2026.
Chairman Eric Nichols and other members praised the move as modernization that reduces paper processes and administrative friction. Gonzalez acknowledged the project team and singled out commissary and trust-fund staff and IT project managers for their role in combining the four systems.
What happens next: staff will continue UAT and vendor-led training; the board will receive project updates as the agency approaches statewide cutovers. The board also approved a separate slate of purchases and renewals which included the new platform as part of the package of contracts presented the same day.
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