Chippewa Correctional Facility

Chippewa Correctional Facility is a multi-security level state prison for male prisoners that is located in Kincheloe, Michigan. It consists of an East and West side, and can house a total of 2,086 inmates.

The East side consists of three Level II housing units with 240 beds each; one Level IV housing unit with 192 beds; a Level I unit with 120 beds; a 96 bed administrative segregation unit and a 22 bed detention unit. 

The West side of the facility, formerly Straits Correctional Facility, has dormitory style Level II housing. There are eight Level II Housing Units which have 140 beds each. The facility includes an administration building, maintenance department and warehouse. There is a Health Care unit, Food Service unit, and a Programs/School building location on both the East and West sides of the facility.  

The perimeter security includes a buffer fence, double chain link fences, razor-ribbon wire, electronic detection systems, an armed patrol vehicle, and gun towers.

Prison Insights

Visiting Hours and Rules

Visiting Hours at Chippewa Correctional Facility are as follows:

Level IV:
Monday & Friday            8:00 am – 1:00 pm
Sunday                            2:30 pm – 9:00 pm

Level II:
Mon, Thu & Fri               2:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Saturday                         8:30 am – 9:00 pm
Sunday                            8:00 am – 1:00 pm 

Segregation:
Thursday                        8:30 am – 1:30 pm

Level I:
Mon, Thu & Fri              2:30 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 are allowed to visit with a prisoner at one time. Children less than two years of age will not be counted in that number. 

For a complete list of visiting rules at Chippewa Correctional Facility, click here. You can also find a complete Family Information Packet by clicking 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
• Money for vending machines - a maximum amount of $25.00 per visitor or no more than $60 per group visit.
• 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 - Visitors may purchase photo tickets from the lobby vending machine. All photographs of prisoners will be supervised by staff and approved prior to distribution to prisoner or visitor. All photographs will be limited to one prisoner per photograph. 
• 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. 

When writing to a prisoner using the US mail system, the envelope must include the address of the facility where the prisoner is located as well as the offender’s name and MDOC number. If you do not know this information, you can search the OTIS Database, located on the MDOC’s website (www.michigan.gov/mdoc).

How to Call an Inmate

How to Send Money

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

After creating a ConnectNetwork account and selecting Chippewa 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.

Programs For Inmates

Programs at Chippewa Correctional Facility include academic and vocational instruction, work assignments, general and law library services, group counseling, substance abuse treatment, horticulture, recreational and religious programs, and cognitive behavior restructuring programming.

Prisoners are provided with on-site routine medical, dental, and mental health care. Serious problems are treated at the department's Duane L. Waters Health Care in Jackson and emergencies are referred to a local hospital.

Prisoner Education

The mission of the education program is to provide educational opportunities for prisoners to take responsibility for developing their academic, work, and social competencies in order for them to become contributing, productive members of the prison community while incarcerated and contributing members of their communities upon release from prison.

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. This is accomplished within a continuous quality improvement environment which contains cost while providing the most effective programs to ensure every prisoner obtains a General Educational Development (GED) certificate or an Industry-Recognized Certification in Vocational Training prior to leaving prison.  

Every eligible prisoner will have an opportunity to learn workplace skills in Career and Technical Education (CTE), State Correctional Opportunities for Rehabilitation and Education (SCORE) (e.g. Prison Build), Employment Readiness, soft skills training, or other routine work assignments available throughout the Department.

Employment Readiness/Pre-Release: Employment readiness programming prior to release. Areas included are prisoner education, vocational education, and job placement.

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.

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. Correctional Education provides CTE programming in a flexible schedule offering open entry and open exit enrollment. 

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

Career and Technical Counseling (CTC) (Formerly Vocational Counseling): 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.

Chance for Life (CFL): CFL is a voluntary program is 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.

Some colleges also offer courses face to face inside the prison. Jackson Community College (JCC) and the University of Michigan Dearborn are currently providing credit-barring classes inside correctional facilities. The VERA Grant allows the expansion of these classes through JCC, Kalamazoo Community College, and Oakland Community College. 

The Department is looking to expand these opportunities for prisoners and realize the effect post-secondary education has on recidivism.

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. Therefore, whenever possible, prisoners should be placed in Routine Work Assignments that will provide work experience relevant to the current job market. In addition, when feasible, the prisoner’s work day should simulate the work day in the community.

State Correctional Opportunities for Rehabilitation and Education (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. 

Prisoners that participate in this program are trained in MDOC Career and Technical Education (CTE) classes and earn state and/or national certifications. Under the umbrella of SCORE, prisoners participate in restorative justice projects while contributing to the community.

Pictures of Chippewa Correctional Facility

Careers at Chippewa Correctional Facility