For the first time in five years, Tj Gear saw his daughter face-to-face on Monday.

He picked up the 7-year-old in an embrace and told her, “I miss you.”

Their meeting was the first of its kind at Ramsey County Jail. Family and friends who come to the jail to visit usually talk to their loved one over a live video chat — not an in-person gathering.

Now, in a pilot program, some inmates will be allowed to meet with their families.

“The larger goal is to have our inmates leave our facility in a better position than when they came in,” said Sheriff Bob Fletcher. “We want to utilize support from family because ultimately, when they get out of jail, they’re going to need to have strong relationships to overcome the temptations of drugs and alcohol.”

Inmates in Minnesota’s prisons are allowed in-person visits, but face-to-face visits with relatives rarely happen in county jails, where people are held before their court cases are resolved.

GOAL: GET INMATES TO THINK ABOUT FUTURE

Ramsey County jail inmates can now request to have in-person visits with their families. If approved, the visits will be held on Mondays.

They’ll need to have been locked up for at least 10 days, which will mean they’ve been able to get any drugs or alcohol out of their system, and shown good behavior in the jail, Fletcher said.

“There are people who would argue: ‘It makes sense to do this in a prison system, but you guys are just pretrial, what are you thinking?,’ ” Fletcher said. “But the reverse argument is: ‘When is there a better time to start getting a person thinking positively about their future than right while you have them here?'”

There have been video visits at the Ramsey County jail, which is in St. Paul on Grove Street, off Lafayette Road, since it opened in 2003. At the old county jail in downtown St. Paul, now torn down, inmates and their visitors were divided by clear partitions.

During the new in-person visits, family members have to go through a metal detector and can’t bring anything into the meeting room. A correctional officer will be in the room to supervise and inmates are searched for any contraband after they leave.

People can start and end their visits with a hug, kiss or handshake. Children who are 9 or under can sit on their parent’s lap.

VISITING AREA AIMS TO HAVE ‘FAMILY ROOM ATMOSPHERE’

Thomas Gear, who goes by Tj, has been locked up since March — the 27-year-old has been at the Ramsey County Workhouse for past cases and the county jail for seven pending cases, mostly involving theft. He’s pleaded not guilty but hasn’t been able to raise the money to post bail.

Gear said his girlfriend, Ashley Smith, kept their daughter Aubreanna away from him over the years because he was battling methamphetamine addiction and “out running the streets.” He said Monday that he understands — “I wouldn’t want my kid around that, either” — but he also missed his daughter and wanted to see her.

On Monday, he was able to embrace both Smith and Aubreanna when they came for the first family visit.

Related Articles Charges: 17-year-old shot 15-year-old in face during marijuana deal in St. Paul

St. Paul man poured poisonous chemicals on ex-wife in Roseville park, according to attempted murder charges

Man, 38, dies of apparent natural causes at Ramsey County jail

St. Paul woman sentenced for manslaughter in man’s death; murder charge dismissed

Roseville schools employee, 20, charged with criminal sexual conduct involving student, 15 Steve Lydon, Ramsey County jail’s superintendent, said he tried to create a room that felt more like “a family room atmosphere,” rather than “an institutionalized setting.” They spent less than $2,000 to get it ready — they had it painted and an artist created a mural. There are soft chairs, children’s toys and a kid-sized picnic table.

The jail has enough staff working on Mondays to run the program, but if they want to consider expanding it after the three-month pilot program, they might ask for additional funding for next year, Fletcher said.

A CHANCE TO TALK AND PLAY

During Monday’s visit, Aubreanna sat on Gear’s lap for a bit and she was continuously smiling, though she didn’t talk — her mother said she’s shy and she doesn’t speak much at school or in video chats with her dad, but “she’ll talk your ear off at home.” Smith said they’ll keep up the in-person visits and she thinks Aubreanna will warm up to talking.

The girl — whose favorite color is pink — wore it from head-to-toe on Monday, including a pink hairbow, to see her father. Fletcher gave her a set of little dolls, which a jail employee bought for the girl.

Gear tried to get Aubreanna to color with him and then picked up one of her new dolls. “You want me to play Barbies, huh?,” he asked. She took the toy out of his hand, looked at him and smiled again.

After about 25 minutes, during which Smith and Gear talked, they said their good-byes.

“Daddy loves you,” Gear told Aubreanna. “I’ll be home soon.”

SEEING FAMILY MAKES HIM WANT TO BE BACK HOME

Lydon said he recently emailed other jail administrators around the state and did not hear about other institutions that offer regular, in-person family visits for adult inmates who are awaiting trial.

The Ramsey County Juvenile Detention Center allows relatives to visit, and the Ramsey County Workhouse — where people may go after they’re sentenced — has a program for female inmates to see their children in person, according to Chris Crutchfield, Ramsey County Community Corrections spokesman. They’re planning to allow the same for fathers in the future, he said.

At the Renville County jail, when a social services worker requests that a child visit a parent, “there is no question for us about allowing it,” said Ned Wohlman, administrator of the jail in Olivia. It’s been happening for at least five years.

“It’s not the kid’s fault that their parent is here,” Wohlman said. “Not only is it the right thing to do, if you look at the statistical evidence it is just absolutely the right thing to do when you look at recidivism rates and trying to make them back into parents.”

Related Articles St. Paul man poured poisonous chemicals on ex-wife in Roseville park, according to attempted murder charges

Man, 38, dies of apparent natural causes at Ramsey County jail

Roseville: Man arrested after ex-wife suffers potential exposure to toxic chemical

Sept. 30 is last day for public comment on Pigs Eye Lake makeover

St. Paul woman sentenced for manslaughter in man’s death; murder charge dismissed For Gear, seeing his girlfriend and daughter face-to-face was a relief, though it was depressing to go back into the jail afterward.

But he’s seeing his life differently now. He said he received drug treatment when he was in the workhouse, and meeting with Smith and Aubreanna especially makes him want to stay clean.

“It makes you think, ‘I should be home. I shouldn’t be here,’ ” Gear said after their visit.