Disclosed is cash-release system and methods of use for releasing a cash balance of an account associated with a releasee from a secure facility. One embodiment includes a ticket/card printer/dispenser and a cash-release station operating at the secure facility and a network operations center operating remotely to the secure facility. The network operations center may include an operations processor that is coupled with the ticket dispenser and the cash-release station via a secure communications network, wherein the operations processor implements a cash-release management module to retrieve identity information for and the account balance of the releasee from an accounts-management and records system associated with the secure facility, to dispense an encoded ticket/card providing or linking to the identity information and the account balance, and to operate a cash-release station to read the encoded ticket, verify the identity information, and dispense the account balance to the releasee. Other embodiments are disclosed.