Correctional Training Facility (Soledad)

Correctional Training Facility (CTF)—also known as Soledad State Prison—is a male-only state prison located in Soledad, California, and it is adjacent to Salinas Valley State Prison.

The CTF is a Level I and II, General Population prison consisting of three separate facilities. Facility’s A and B are Level II Sensitive Needs Yard units consisting of four three-tier cell block housing units, two-man cells, and two dorms with a total bed capacity of 2,800.

Facility C is a Level II General Population unit consisting of nine three-tier cell block housing units, two-man cells with a total bed capacity of 2,496. Facility C also consists of an Administrative Segregation Unit, which is a three-tier, cell block, housing unit consisting of one-man cells with a total bed capacity of 240.

Facility D is a Level I General Population unit consisting of six dorms with a total bed capacity of 1,012.

Each facility has an independent dining room, clothing distribution, canteen, medical/dental/mental health services, education, library, chapel, and visiting rooms.

Notable former inmates include Sirhan Sirhan, who shot and killed Senator Robert F. Kennedy, former professional skateboarder Mark Ragowski (AKA “Gator” Mark Anthony) whose story was told in the documentary Stoked: The Rise and Fall of Gator, and Dan White, the former San Francisco Supervisor who shot and killed Harvey Milk. White famously used the “Twinkie Defense” and was convicted of manslaughter instead of murder.

White only served five years of his seven-year sentence. However, two years after his release from prison, White committed suicide.

Prison Insights

Visiting Hours and Rules

Correctional Training Facility has visiting hours on Saturdays, Sundays, and four holidays during each calendar year (New Year’s Day, July 4th, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day). Visits usually begin between 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. and end by 3:00 p.m. Check-in for visits ends at 2 p.m.

To get more information about the visiting process at CTF, you can call the 800 Visitors’ Information number (800-374-8474) and follow the directions given, or visit the CDCR website www.cdcr.ca.gov and click on Prisons, and then click on Correctional Training Facility.

The 800 Visitors’ Information number and website will provide information on lockdowns, medical quarantines, or other circumstances affecting visiting.

To answer all of the questions you might have about visiting an inmate at CTF, the CDCR has put together a detailed Visitation Guidebook. We highly recommend that you read through all 28 pages, so you understand what to expect when you visit an inmate, as well as what is expected of you.

We also recommend that you schedule a visit in advance online using the VPASS system. This will reduce your wait time when you arrive at the prison for a visit, and it will also guarantee you a spot in the visiting room. On the day of your scheduled visit, you can check the visiting status at CTF through this system to make sure they are accepting visitors that day.

Getting Approved for a Visit

Before visiting an inmate at CTF—or any other California state prison—you must first get on the approved visiting list. The process is as follows:

• Complete a visitor questionnaire. To obtain this form,the prisoner you wish to visit must mail it to you. The prisoner must also sign this questionnaire first before mailing it out because their signature is their consent to add you to their visiting list.
• You must fill out the questionnaire completely and accurately or you could be denied.
• The CDCR will conduct a background check for arrests and convictions when processing the application.
• Mail the completed questionnaire to:

Correctional Training Facility
Visiting Sergeant
PO Box 686
Soledad, CA 93960- 0686

• If you are approved to visit, the prisoner will be notified, and then it is their job to notify you. Once you are approved, you are listed in the CDCR computer as being an approved visitor for that specific prisoner. You do not need to bring any proof of approval with you to the prison on the day of your visit.
• If you are denied, the prison will send you a letter giving the reason for disapproval, and the prisoner will also receive notice, but will not be given the reason.

General Visiting Rules at CTF

Most prisoners are in the general population and may receive contact visits. Contact visits allow the prisoner to sit together with you, and you may have limited physical contact with them (a brief kiss and/or hug at the beginning and end of a visit, holding hands during the visit).

These visits occur in a large visiting room, usually furnished with tables and chairs. Contact visits are restricted to five visitors at a time.

Inmates in ADSEG or Intake are only allowed non-contact visits, and the inmate and his visitors are separated by a glass partition. Non-contact visits require an appointment through the VPASS system.

All adults must have photo identification when being processed to visit.

You must follow all rules, regulations, and laws while on institution grounds. To ensure that prohibited items are not allowed into the prison, you will be searched before you can visit with an inmate.

Visitors must remove all outer clothing (jackets, sweaters, etc.), shoes, and any jewelry that will set off the metal detector. Those items are placed along with other allowable items on either a conveyor belt for an x-ray search or on a counter for a manual search by staff.

Every adult visitor must fill out a pass each time they visit. The pass requires the prisoner’s name and CDCR number, the relationship of the visitor to the prisoner (spouse, mother, friend, etc.), the visitor’s name and address, and the visitor’s signature.

If you are bringing in minor children, you must list the names of the children on the pass. Once you have filled out the pass, you must give it to staff, and they will check the prisoner’s file to make sure you are an approved visitor, and that the prisoner is eligible to visit on that day.

Staff marks the pass with the prisoner’s housing and notes whether the visit is contact or non-contact. The pass, along with your identification, is your, “key,” to get into and out of the prison.

The only items allowed into a visit without prior approval are:

• A $50 limit per adult and $20 limit per minor; only dollar bills, dollar coins, and quarters
• A small (generally 6” by 8”) clear, plastic purse or bag
• Two keys on a ring with no other attachments
• Identification
• A comb or brush; non-metallic, no pointed end or detachable parts
• A small unopened pack of tissues or a handkerchief; no bandanas
• A pair of prescription glasses
• Ten Photographs, no larger than 8” by 10”; photos may be shown to the prisoner, but must be taken out by the visitor at the end of the visit. No Polaroids. No sexual or gang images.
• Documents up to 10 pages, no larger than 8-1/2” by 11” (standard size typing paper)

Visiting rooms have vending machines stocked with food and beverages for you to purchase, and you can share those items with the inmate. You may not bring any food or beverage from the outside into the prison, and you can’t take out any food or beverage bought at the prison when you leave.

Dress Code

There are restrictions on what you may wear to a prison, and you can read all of the details in the Inmate Visiting Guide. In general, there are four rules to remember:

1. Do not wear clothing that resembles the clothing that prisoners wear (Blue denim pants, Blue chambray shirts, Orange jumpsuits, or Orange tops with Orange bottoms)

2. Do not wear clothing that resembles what custodial staff wear (Forest green pants, Tan shirts, or Camouflage)

3. Dress conservatively and modestly

4. Do not wear any item that cannot be taken off and will not clear a metal detector (such as an underwire bra or clothing with metal buttons)

There is no limitation on the number of people who may correspond with the prisoner or the number of mail items a prisoner may receive.

The only restriction on content is that it may not contain anything that is a threat or potential threat to another (including discussion of a future criminal act, discussion of an escape, discussion of disrupting the security of the prison, coded messages, maps depicting the area in which the prison is located, gang-related comments or photographs, or photographs of nudity or sexual conduct).

All mail is inspected to ensure that there is nothing unacceptable in the envelope and to ensure that the content does not contain anything that presents a danger or threat of danger to any person.

You may send prisoners letters (not more than 10 pages in one envelope), cards (without embellishments such as stickers or glitter), photographs (limited to 10 per envelope and not larger than 8” x 10”), drawings, children’s schoolwork, articles cut from newspapers or magazines, etc.

You are not allowed to send books, magazines, newspapers, or packages directly to an inmate. Instead, you must be send those through approved vendors.

All mail should be addressed to the prisoner with their full name, CDCR number, and the address of the prison.

You may enclose a money order or check in an envelope sent to a prisoner. Mailroom staff will take the money order or check and send it to trust accounts, where it will be credited to the prisoner’s account.

How to Call an Inmate

You can’t call an inmate who is incarcerated at CTF; they must call you. The prisoners use designated phones that make collect calls to a landline or cell phone. You are responsible for paying for the calls, and calling cards cannot be used. For complete details on how to call an inmate in California, please click here.

How to Send Money

To send money to an inmate first:

• Lookup the inmate’s CDCR number using the Inmate Locator
• Make sure the inmate is located at CTF by using the Facility Locator

There are three ways to send money:

1. Lock Box
2. EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer)
3. Mail funds directly to the institution

​Programs For ​Inmates

• Prison Industry Authority (PIA): Administration, Wood Products (Furniture Manufacturing, Upholstery), Textiles, Silk Screen, Warehouse, and Maintenance.
• Vocational: Electronics, Auto Mechanics, Building Maintenance, Carpentry, Computer Literacy, Electrical Works, HVAC, Masonry, Plumbing, Small Engine, Welding, Office Services.
• Academic: Adult Basic Education, Voluntary Education Program, High School/GED, Literacy Program, Computer Assisted Education, College.
• Volunteer/Self Help Programs: Balance Reentry Activity Group (BRAG), Life Cycle, Narcotics Anonymous/Alcoholics Anonymous (NA/AA), Avatar, Toastmasters, Fathers Behind Bars, Alternative To Violence (AVP), Veterans Group, Higher Education Learning Program (HELP), Al-Anon, Criminals and Gangs Anonymous (CGA), Inner Circle (Men’s support group), Incarcerated Vietnam Veterans of America, Native American, Operation New Hope, Rosary Group/Catholic Choir, WE CARE Juvenile Deterrent Group.
• Other: Recycle, Friends Outside, Religious Services, Veterans Service Office, Organized Sports, Substance Abuse Program (SAP), Criminal Thinking, Anger Management, Family Relations, Transitions – Pre Release

Pictures of Correctional Training Facility

Careers at Correctional Training Facility

If you are interested in a job at Correctional Training Facility, please visit the CalCareers website to view available positions.