Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility

The Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility is a multi-security level state prison for adult male inmates that is located in Ionia, Michigan. This prison was built in 2001, which makes it the newest prison in the state of Michigan. It has the capacity to house 1,888 inmates.

Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility's perimeter is surrounded by fences with razor-ribbon. It is also patrolled by armed staff.

Prison Insights

Visiting Hours and Rules

Visiting Hours at Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility are as follows:

Level IV
Thursday                                     2:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Saturday                                     11:30 am – 8:30 pm

Level II
Monday & Friday                       2:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Sunday                                       8:30 am - 8:30 pm

Protective Housing
Thursday                                    8:30 am -  1:30 pm
Saturday                                     8:30 am - 10:30 am

Segregation
Monday & Friday                       8:30 am - 1:30 pm

IBC Dormitory - Level I
Mon, Thurs & Fri                       3:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Saturday & Sunday                   8:30 am - 8:30 pm

General Visiting Rules

All prisoners must complete a Visitor List form to identify immediate family members and no more than 10 other potential visitors. Those persons the prisoner has placed on his/her visiting list must complete a Visiting Application to request approval to visit. The Visiting Application must be submitted in advance to allow for review of the Application.

A maximum of five persons may participate in a visit with a prisoner. Children less than two years of age will not be counted in that number. 

Searches will be completed in accordance with Policy. Visitors who fail to clear the metal detector after two attempts will be screened by use of a handheld metal detector.

For a complete list of visiting rules at Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility, click here.

Dress Code

• Visitors must be fully dressed in clean clothes that do not have holes
• Undergarments must be worn including underpants/panties; adult females must wear a brassiere. 
• Clothing which exposes excessive skin (e.g., abdomen, breast, chest, back, thigh, etc.) is prohibited. This clothing includes, but is not limited to, see-through clothing, tube/halter tops, and shorts or skirts/dresses that are more than 3” above the knee. 
• A visitor who is fourteen years of age or younger must be attired in clothing which covers his/her body from the base of the neck to the top of the knees. T-Shirt and shorts/trousers are acceptable, but a sundress is not acceptable. 
• Clothing which exposes undergarments is prohibited. 
• Extreme form-fitting clothing, including but not limited to yoga pants, running tights, jeggings, unitards, etc. may not be worn as outer garments. 
• Clothing which displays words, symbols, gestures, or pictures that may be perceived as obscene or inflammatory are prohibited. 
• Outer garments such as shawls/ponchos/lightweight coats/jackets (including denim and jogging suit jackets), winter coats/jackets, shrugs, vests, headgear, gloves, or outer boots that slip over a shoe are not allowed in the visiting room. Blazers, suit coats, and sweaters are permissible. Note: Hooded garments are prohibited. 
• Visitors are permitted to wear religious clothing and headgear (e.g., Hijab, yarmulke, turban, habit, etc.), into the visiting room; they are subject to search and inspection. It may be necessary for MDOC staff to search/inspect these items at any time during the visiting process. 
• Footwear must be worn at all times. 
• Jewelry worn by visitors will be itemized on entry and on leaving the visiting area. Jewelry is limited to no more than ten pieces. Note: Jewelry which includes an open compartment or space designed to contain photographs, hair, ashes, etc. is prohibited (e.g., lockets, rings, charms, vials, etc.). 

Also prohibited are watches, including electronic wristbands, pendants, eyeglasses, and other similar items containing a camera, GPS, wireless, or electronic functions. 

Personal Property Allowed in the Visiting Room

The following list is all-inclusive: 

• Locker key
• Visitor pass
• Identification card
• Funds for the purchase of food items sold from vending machines located in the visiting room where the visit is taking place. The funds shall be: a. Change (dollar coins, quarters, dimes and nickels only), maximum $25 per visitor. The maximum allowed for a visiting party of three or more persons is $60; or b. Prepaid vending card as authorized at the facility where the visit will take place. Notes: Money is not allowed in facilities where vending cards are used. 
• When an infant is on the visit: Two, clear plastic bottles, one pacifier, and one single-layered baby blanket (no quilt or comforter style). A clear, plastic, spill-proof cup “sippy cup” is permitted when a toddler is a member of the visiting party. 
• Medications and/or medical equipment (e.g., wheelchair, cane, walker, oxygen equipment, prosthesis, etc.) which may be needed by a visitor during a visit are permitted with the approval of the shift commander.
• A service animal which provides service for a disabled visitor is permitted to accompany the visitor while in the visiting room. A service animal is defined as a dog that has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability. 
• Photo tickets
• Immediate family members may bring legal documents in on a visit for review only with the prisoner. The documents cannot be left with the prisoner nor left at the front desk for the prisoner. These items are subject to search before being taken into the visiting room. 

How to Call an Inmate

How to Send Money

You can send money to an inmate at Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility via the GTL ConnectNetwork with their Trust Fund service. 

After creating a ConnectNetwork account and selecting Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility and your inmate to add to your account, you can deposit money into his Trust Fund (commissary) account at any time. Deposit amounts vary, but the most common denominations are between $10 and $100. All funds appear on the inmate’s account quickly, efficiently, and accurately.

While using this website is the easiest and fastest way to make a Trust Fund deposit, there are several different payment options available. Note: all Trust Fund deposits are final; there are no refunds issued.

Programs For Inmates

Academic programs offer a range of educational opportunities including Adult Basic Education and General Education Development. Special education courses for prisoners with learning disabilities are also available. Vocational training is available in Building Education Technology.

The prison also offers group counseling and religious services. For prisoners with mental health problems, Psychiatrist, Psychologists and Social Workers are available. An Outpatient Mental Health team provides additional therapy. 

Other programs include Substance Abuse, Michigan Sex Offender Program, Violence Prevention Program, and a cognitive restructuring effort called Thinking for a Change. As well as a Training Program for Leader Dogs for the Blind.  

Bellamy Creek is an In-Reach Facility for the Department’s reentry services, promoting Offender Success.  These prisoners will be paroling to Kent, Allegan, Clinton, Eaton, Lake, Mason, Mecosta, Newaygo, Oceana, Osceola, Barry, Ionia, Montcalm and Ingham Counties.

Prisoner Education is committed to providing academic, technical, and workplace skills training for prisoners designed to enhance their ability to acquire and maintain a job upon release. 

Core Programs:

• Thinking for a Change (T4C)
• Cage Your Rage (CYR)
• Advanced Substance Abuse Treatment (ASAT)
• Substance Abuse Outpatient
• Violence Prevention Program High (VPP High)
• Violence Prevention Program Moderate (VPP Moderate)
• Bridges
• Sex Offender Program (SOP)
• Michigan Sex Offender Program
• Employment Readiness/Pre-Release - Employment readiness programming prior to release. Areas included are prisoner education, vocational education, and job placement.

Elective/Secondary Programs:

• Academic Classes - These classes improve students’ basic skills and prepare them to take the General Educational Development (GED) certificate. Classes offered at MDOC facilities include: Adult Basic Education (ABE) and GED, English as a Second Language (ESL), and Special Education programming.
• Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)
• Assaultive Offender Program (AOP)
• Career and Technical Counseling (CTC) - Career interest and aptitude assessment is provided to prisoners. The counseling, which accompanies the test administration, assists the prisoner in selecting CTE programming within the prisons and in determining career paths upon release.
• Career and Technical Education (CTE) - CTE programs provide prisoners with specific trades instruction, technical skills and soft skill competencies critical to finding and maintaining employment. These skills are transferable into community employment or community college programming through state and/or federally recognized certifications upon completion. 

Special institutional and community projects provide prisoners the opportunity to demonstrate hands-on skills through job-related programming and restorative justice opportunities.

• Chance for Life (CFL) - CFL is a voluntary program offered at select facilities intended to support workforce entry, job readiness skills, life skills, and behavior modification to provide positive adjustment of prisoners upon their release from prison.
• College (Post-Secondary Programs) - Prisoners are allowed to participate in post-secondary classes geared towards college credit or enrichment at their own expense. The correspondence course Policy Directive “Correspondence Courses” allows prisoners to take college classes through the mail from a number of colleges and universities, including Ohio University, Delta College, and Montcalm Community College, to name a few.
• Faith and Character Prison
• Family Preservation
• Inside Out Dad
• Narcotics Anonymous (NA)
• Routine Work Assignment (RWA) - The Department is committed to providing prisoners with an opportunity to acquire job skills and develop positive and constructive work habits to improve their employment readiness, opportunities, and potential wages both in the institution and upon their return to the community. 
• SCORE/Prison Build - This program, formerly called Prison Build, allows prisoners to gain valuable work experience producing various items for non-profit organizations and state agencies. The MDOC collaborates with numerous organizations including Habitat for Humanity, The Children’s Trust Fund, the Ionia Free Fair, the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Human Services, Goodwill Industries, and various Food Banks and Homeless Shelters. Items produced include: house walls, cabinets, beds, countertops, picnic tables, landscaping plants, trees, and native grasses. 
• Substance Abuse Education

Pictures of Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility

Careers at Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility