Winfield Correctional Facility

Winfield Correctional Facility's (WCF) is a minimum-security Kansas state prison for inmates. It has a capacity of 554 inmates at the main facility. Capacity at Wichita Work Release Facility (WWRF) is 250 adult male inmates.

WCF is located in Cowley County in south central Kansas. The facility is located on the north side of the city of Winfield at the site of the former Winfield State Hospital and Training Center.

WCF serves a re-entry function designed to provide a smooth transition from an institutional setting to the community for inmates expected to be paroled in the near future. 

Wichita Work Release Facility, in Wichita, is a satellite facility of Winfield, and it provides selected inmates the opportunity for community reintegration prior to their actual release from custody. Inmates are housed in the highly structured residential setting and are expected to become gainfully employed on a full-time basis in the community.

Prison Insights

Visiting Hours and Rules

Visiting Hours at Winfield Correctional Facility are as follows:

• 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.     Monday and Friday
• 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.     Saturday and Sunday

Inmate visitation at WCF is provided on the following four state holidays:  Christmas Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Thanksgiving Day. If either Christmas Day or the Fourth of July holiday falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or other day where a facility has regularly scheduled visitation, the holiday will be incorporated within the regular visitation schedule and an additional visitation day will NOT be scheduled.

Visitors WILL NOT be allowed to depart and return. Once departed, visitation for the day is over. 

General Visiting Guidelines

Before you are allowed to visit, you must be on the offender’s approved visiting list. Applications for Visiting Privileges are available to inmates through their Correctional Counselor. Inmates must return the form to their Counselor with postage and an envelope addressed to the visitor. 

Once you receive the application, you must fill it out and return the application to the Corrections Counselor for review and processing. The approval process can take up to five weeks. 

All visitors must produce a valid picture I.D. Picture Identification may include a driver’s license, passport, or other form of government I.D. Children under the age of 18 may utilize an official birth certificate issued by the department of vital statistics from the state they were born as proof of identification. Visitors without proper identification will not be allowed to visit.

Upon approval of the visit, visitors are required to secure their coats and other personal belongings.

• Hats, coats, jackets, shawls, wraps, etc. must be hung on the coat rack.
• Purses, bags, and other loose property must be secured in provided lockers.
• Visitors are not allowed to remove items from lockers after securing their personal belongings until they have completed the visit. 
• Visitors are permitted to retain a maximum of $30 in change and bills for vending machines. Tokens are not utilized at WCF.
• All items purchased from vending machines must be consumed during the visit or disposed of at the conclusion of the visit.
• Food removed from the visiting area will not be allowed back into the visiting area at a later time.
• Visitors are required to submit to a search of their person and property.
• Visitors must first clear a walk-through metal detector in three attempts. 
• If unable to do so, a handheld wand will be used, which must be cleared.
• Visitors with non-removable medical devices must provide documentation from a physician and such documentation will be made a part of their visiting record.   
• Failure to clear search process will result in denial of visiting privileges for that session.
• Visitors may be required to submit to more intrusive searches if they are suspected of trafficking contraband into the facility.  Refusal to submit to any search may result in a suspension of visiting privileges for up to a year.
• Visiting registration must be completed and personal items secured before the offender will be called to visit.

Dress Code

All visitors must be dressed appropriately. The following type of clothing will not be considered appropriate attire for visiting: 

• See-through clothing
• Tank tops
• Midriff, strapless, or backless garments such as stretch tube tops and halter-tops.
• Bare feet
• Braless attire (females must wear bras)
• High-slit skirts or dresses
• Low-cut necklines
• Unbuttoned shirts
• Skirts and shorts ending more than 6” above the knee when seated
• Attire with objectionable slogans or logos
• Tight fitting clothing or clothing made from spandex

The Shift Supervisor has the authority to deny a visit if the attire is determined to be unsuitable.

Visiting Food Guidelines

• Vending machines are available onsite with food items, snacks, and beverages.
• A microwave is available for use onsite.
• Fast food and prepared restaurant foods are allowed.
• All foods must meet established guidelines and will be inspected by staff.
• Food items must be packaged in a manner to allow for inspection without touching.

Additional Requirements: 

• Food receipts must be obtained and presented upon request of the Visiting Officer.
• Vending machines and microwaves are to be used only by visitors. These are restricted areas for offenders.
• Food not consumed during the visit must be discarded or removed by the visitor and may not be reintroduced.
• Beverages must be purchased from the vending machines in the Visitor Center only.

The Kansas Department of Corrections also allows inbound and outbound electronic messaging with inmates from family and friends who have established an account at JPay.com.

How to Call an Inmate

How to Send Money

​Programs For ​Inmates

The following are programs and services available at Winfield Correctional Facility:

• Pre-Release                    
• Vocational (Aramark)                    
• GED

Correctional Industries

Aramark (6 slots)
Pioneer Balloon (12 slots)

Community Service Work

Inmates at Winfield Correctional Facility provide thousands of hours of community service work each year to non-profit entities after certification that the service work will not displace community-available jobs. This program provides labor for those approved agencies and provides inmates with valuable job skills and work ethics that they can utilize upon release. Long-term community service work includes:

• Butler County
• City of Arkansas City
• City of El Dorado
• City of Wichita   
• City of Winfield    
• Cowley County Humane Society
• Lion’s Club Sight Project                  
• Kansas Department of Transportation 
• Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks
• Strother Field
• USD 465

Reaching Out From Within

Inmates also can participate in Reaching Out from Within, a self-help program for inmates who are committed to change and to giving back to the community.

Reaching Out From Within is a Kansas City-based, non-profit organization founded in 1982 by violence prevention advocate and author SuEllen Fried. The program is dedicated to providing programs that prevent violence in our community. By breaking the cycle of violence, participants become contributing members of their families and society. Incarcerated men and women lead meetings using a curriculum written by offenders that teaches life skills and encourages them to make positive changes in their lives.

The meetings are open to every inmate in the facility, and they are held two nights each week. During the meetings, inmates work with various materials and reference books that help in their quest to learn new ways to meet life's challenges and change their behavior. Select program participants, who have met special criteria, routinely speak to students and other groups in their community about choices and consequences.

Giving back to society in a meaningful way is one of the core beliefs of the program. The group gives back to society by supporting charities.

For more information, see the Reaching Out From Within website at http://www.rofw.org.

Pictures of Winfield Correctional Facility

Careers at Winfield Correctional Facility

If you are interested in a career with the Kansas Department of Corrections at the Winfield Correctional Facility, you can click here for more information.