Location Chowchilla, California Security class Medium Phone +1 559-665-6100 | Status Operational Opened April 1995 Warden Raythel Fisher, Jr | |
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Capacity 1,536 (female) 444 (male) Managed by California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Address 21633 Avenue 24, Chowchilla, CA 93610, USA Hours Open today · 6AM–7PMCesar Chavez Day might affect these hoursFriday(Cesar Chavez Day)6AM–7PMHours might differSaturdayClosedSundayClosedMonday6AM–7PMTuesday6AM–7PMWednesday6AM–7PMThursday6AM–7PMSuggest an edit Population 1,353 (304.7%) (male) (as of 31 December 2012) | ||
Valley State Prison, previously the Valley State Prison for Women (VSPW), is a state prison in Chowchilla, California. It is across the road from Central California Women's Facility. It used to be a prison for women.
Contents
It is 250 miles (400 km) north of Downtown Los Angeles.
Facilities
VSPW covers approximately 640 acres (260 ha). In September 28, 2010, VSPW had a total of 1,222 staff and an annual operating budget of $129.3 million. As of March 2012, it had a design capacity of 1,980 but a total institution population of 2,431.
VSPW holds prisoners at almost all security levels:
The mission of VSPW is multi-fold. VSPW functions as a Reception Center (RC) and as a General Population institution providing education and vocational opportunities for inmates. For inmates requiring a higher level of management care, VSPW has an Administrative Housing Unit (ASU) and Security Housing Unit (SHU). VSPW is also designed as the hub facility for female inmates with mobility impairments, and the ASU and SHU serves as a hub for housing inmates in the Mental Health Services Delivery System (MHSDS) at the Enhanced Outpatient Program (EOP) level of care. VSPW also houses pregnant inmates.
The Chowchilla Family Express provides transportation for family members from major California cities to visit prisoners at the facility.
History
The prison opened in April 1995. In 1996, the City of Chowchilla was given permission to perform a non-contiguous annexation of VSPW.
Ted Koppel interviewed many staff, including Dr. Anthony DiDomenico, the chief medical officer of VSPW, in October 1999 for series of episodes of Nightline. In the expose, the physician was quoted as saying "I've heard [from a particular female parolee, at CDCR-approved conference] inmates tell me that they would deliberately like to be examined [i.e., receive a pelvic examination ]. It's the only male contact they get." After the airing of the Nightline episode, only DiDomenico was reassigned "to a desk job in Sacramento" for his description.
An October 2000 California state legislative committee hearing on female inmates' medical issues was held at VSPW. At the hearing, approximately 15 inmates "described grave medical problems" at VSPW and Central California Women's Facility; however, the physician representing the California Department of Corrections stated that she felt the female inmates "were getting the best care possible."
Starting in April 2007, VSPW received some inmates from California Rehabilitation Center after closure of the women's wing at that prison. The population at VSPW "swelled by 8 percent"; furthermore, "the court-appointed overseer of prison medical care" stated that VSPW's medical system might "collapse entirely" due to the extra prisoners.
Inmate programs
Budget cuts in 2009 "drastically reduced the number of academic, vocational, and SAP assignments" (p. 3). The rate of recidivism at VSPW is approximately 72%. There are numerous Self-Help programs for inmates ranging from 12-step inmate facilitated groups such as Alcoholic Anonymous, Battered Women, Domestic Violence, and Narcotics Anonymous.
In addition to inmate-facilitated self-help programs, outside volunteer groups also conduct classes and workshops, some of which have been featured in national and international media. Crossroads allow at-risk youth to visit VSPW facilities and hear from volunteer inmates about life in prison. This program was featured in an episode on Arts and Entertainment Television Network called "Beyond Scared Straight". Freedom to Choose is an all volunteer service project of the University of Santa Monica that has been teaching decriminogenic life skills and forgiveness workshops at VSPW twice a year since March 2004, and was featured in a documentary that was awarded Best Documentary at the Emerging Filmmakers Showcase, American Pavilion at the Cannes Film Festival in 2009.
Conversion to male institution
The CDCR began converting the prison into a facility for low-risk male inmates in 2012. The conversion was completed in January 2013, with the female inmates transferred to the nearby Central California Women's Facility and California Institution for Women (CIW) in Chino, San Bernardino County, California. Some inmates nearing the end of their sentence have been transferred to various county jails.