Kentucky Department of Corrections


The Kentucky Department of Corrections is a state agency of the Kentucky Justice & Public Safety Cabinet that operates state-owned adult correctional facilities, provides oversight for and sets standards for county jails. They also provide training, community based services, and oversees the state's Probation & Parole Division. The agency is headquartered in the Health Services Building in Frankfort.

Since the beginning of the 2015 Fiscal Year, the department has seen a staffing shortage of epic proportions due to low salaries, constant overtime, and the lure of higher paying jobs in the private sector. What were once 8-hour days and 40-hour weeks with occasional overtime turned into 12-hour days and 60-hour weeks out of necessity. In response to this staffing crisis and continued pressure from correctional employees, the Kentucky Legislature held a special session and approved an immediate 13.1% salary increase for current security staff, moved non-security staff to 40 hour work weeks, and increased the starting salary for Correctional Officers from $23,346 to $30,000 annually. Shortly after taking office, former Governor Matt Bevin included $4.5 million in his biennial budget proposal to provide retention raises for correctional staff.

Facilities

State-owned

Following is a list of Kentucky state prisons:
NameLocationSecurity levelYear openedPopulation Notes
Bell County Forestry CampPineville, KentuckyMinimum1962300
Blackburn Correctional ComplexLexington, KentuckyMinimum1972320
Eastern Kentucky Correctional ComplexWest Liberty, KentuckyMedium19901,689
Green River Correctional ComplexCentral City, KentuckyMinimum/Medium1994982
Kentucky Correctional Institute for WomenPewee Valley, KentuckyAll1938683Women's facility housing all security levels, including death row.
Kentucky State PenitentiaryEddyville, KentuckyMaximum/Supermax1886856
Kentucky State ReformatoryLa Grange, KentuckyMedium19362005
Little Sandy Correctional ComplexSandy Hook, KentuckyMedium/Maximum20051012
Luther Luckett Correctional ComplexLa Grange, KentuckyMedium/Maximum1981987Kentucky Correctional Psychiatric Center located within the same compound
Northpoint Training CenterBurgin, KentuckyMedium19831230
Roederer Correctional ComplexLa Grange, KentuckyMedium/Minimum19761002Male Intake Facility
Ross-Cash CenterFredonia, KentuckyMinimum2015200Women's minimum security facility adjacent to the Western Kentucky Correctional Complex.
Western Kentucky Correctional ComplexFredonia, KentuckyMedium/Minimum1977693Formerly a women's facility. Converted to men's facility in 2015.

Private prisons

In June 2013, Kentucky temporarily ended its decades long relationship with Corrections Corporation of America , closing Marion Adjustment Center in St. Mary, the last private prison at the time that housed Kentucky inmates. This decision was widely applauded across the state, as the tax dollar savings totaled in the millions.
Otter Creek Correctional Complex in Wheelwright was closed in 2012 amid continued allegations of medical neglect, shoddy security, and sexual abuse of inmates from staff. It is still owned by CoreCivic and sits vacant. Discussions have been held periodically to use the vacant Otter Creek facility as a nursing home for Kentucky's ever growing elderly population, with medical care needs that most institutions are not equipped to handle.
Lee Adjustment Center in Beattyville, also operated by CoreCivic, housed out-of-state inmates from Vermont until 2010. In November 2017, due to facility overcrowding, the Kentucky Department of Corrections signed a contract allowing CoreCivic to reactivate the vacant prison to house up to 800 male inmates. These inmates would be transferred from the Kentucky State Reformatory. The facility reopened and began accepting inmates in March 2018.

Death row

The Kentucky State Penitentiary houses the male death row. The Kentucky Correctional Institute for Women houses the female death row. Executions occur at KSP.