Earnest C. Brooks Correctional Facility

Earnest C. Brooks Correctional Facility is a mixed-security state prison for male prisoners that is located near Muskegon, Michigan. It is adjacent to the Port City Industrial Park and sits on 76 acres. 

LRF is comprised of six housing units. Three are for Level II inmates, and they house up to 240 prisoners each. Two are Level IV and house up to 192 each. The sixth is Level I and houses up to 120 prisoners. 

Housing units are separated by additional internal fencing to prohibit prisoners of different security levels from mixing. Prisoners from different security levels are only mixed under limited, controlled situations. The facility also has a 22-bed segregation unit.

LRF is one of three facilities for male prisoners in Muskegon and shares operations with West Shoreline Correctional Facility, including administrative staff such as the warden. 

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 Earnest C. Brooks Correctional Facility are as follows:

Level IV:
Thursday                               2:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Saturday                                8:30 am – 9:00 pm 

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

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

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

General Visiting Rules

Anyone who wishes to visit an inmate must be placed on their visiting list, and they also 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 Earnest C. Brooks 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; but 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 at Earnest C. Brooks Correctional Facility using the US mail system, the envelope must include the address of the facility 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).

FFP Program

The FFP Program is a Department-approved customized package program that allows family members and others to send authorized items to prisoners while safeguarding against the introduction of contraband.  

There is a limit of $100, not including tax and shipping, per FFP order placed. Only one FFP order may be placed by or for a prisoner per quarter (i.e., Jan-Mar; Apr-Jun; Jul-Sep; Oct-Dec). Only the first order placed by or for a prisoner each quarter will be processed, regardless of who placed the order or the value of the order.

For additional information about this program, visit the FFP website at www.michiganpackages.com.

How to Call an Inmate

How to Send Money

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

After creating a ConnectNetwork account and selecting Earnest C. Brooks 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

The Earnest C. Brooks Correctional Facility promotes offender success by providing academic and vocational programs, which include Special Education, Adult Basic Education, General Education Development and Food Tech.  

MDOC core programming provided at LRF includes Thinking for a Change (T4C), Sex Offender Program (MSOP), Advanced Substance Abuse Treatment (ASAT), Violence Prevention Program High (VPP High) and Violence Prevention Program Moderate (VPP Moderate).  

Other programs include religious and special activity groups and group counseling. Michigan State Industries also operates a prison laundry, which provide laundry service to several state and federal agencies.

The facility offers a library, education programs, substance-abuse treatment, impulse control therapy, group counseling, sex offender treatment, and religious services. 

In 2011, the prison began participating in the Shakespeare Behind Bars program. The program is intended to provide inmates an opportunity to be involved in a theatrical and creative process.

In 2015, a new Holy Ground All Faith Chapel was opened at the prison. The privately funded chapel can hold up to 150 prisoners at one time, and is also used for classrooms.

Michigan Sex Offender Program

Prisoners who enter the Michigan Sex Offender Program (MSOP) will learn different teqhniques in programming to alter thinking and behaviors, so they can live a healthy lifestyle upon reentry into society. 

MSOP has been designed to provide offenders with the following in order to reduce the probability of sexual assault by assisting offenders in developing self-confidence and attitudes necessary to pursue an individualized good life: 

• skills to make healthier decisions
• self-confidence
• pro-social thinking

The program anticipates that sex offenders who complete treatment will be better equipped for healthier functioning lives to meet their own basic needs, thus less likely to reoffend and create new victims. 

As with other evidence-based Sex Offender Programs, the MSOP model of intervention is based on the principles of Good Lives Model, Self-Regulation, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Pathways to offending. 

Pictures of Earnest C. Brooks Correctional Facility

Careers at Earnest C. Brooks Correctional Facility

If you are interested in a career with the Michigan Department of Corrections at the Earnest C. Brooks Correctional Facility, you can find job listings by clicking here.