- State Prison
- Pennsylvania
- PO Box 33028, St Petersburg, FL 33733
- 610-490-5412
- Official Website
- Featured
State Correctional Institution – SCI Chester basic information to help guide you through what you can do for your inmate while they are incarcerated. The facility's direct contact number: 610-490-5412
This facility is for adult inmates.
The inmates housed at SCI Chester located at 500 E 4th St in Chester, PA are placed according to their custody level (determined by a number of factors including the past criminal history and the length of their sentence). There are ample educational and vocational training programs for all inmates, especially ones that show a willingness to learn new things that will prepare them for a better life when they are released. The mission is to promote and prepare the offender to leave in better shape than when they arrived, giving them the best chance to never come back and thus lower the state's recidivism rate.
SCI Chester was constructed as a 1,175-bed medium-security state prison for inmates with a documented substance abuse history. SCI Chester is the 24th state correctional institution to open in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and is unique in its architectural structure and programmatic design. SCI Chester is 13.77 acres in size, with 9 acres being inside the perimeter fence. There are a total of 10 buildings on campus, all but one is on the inside the fence. SCI Chester housing complement contains 14 housing units, all containing cell-style housing. The housing units design – pods – was considered an ambitious move for correctional facilities during the 1980s. In addition to its structure and program focus, it is the first tobacco-free facility in the commonwealth.
SCI Chester is an innovative facility which was designed to provide a continuum of substance abuse treatment services in the institution and continuing in the community at community corrections centers. This consortium approach uses the experience and expertise of public and private agencies in a broad-based effort, which focuses on the treatment of inmates without losing sight of our primary responsibility for public safety. Our Therapeutic Community (TC) current mission is to provide quality treatment to more than 1,000 offenders yearly utilizing the TC model.
Total Acreage Outside Perimeter: 4.77
Number of Building Inside Perimeter: 9
Number of Buildings Outside Perimeter: 1
Number of Housing Units: 14
Housing units consist of cells.
Inmate Information: Click HERE for the current population report
Inmate Average Age: 38
Academic Programs:
Basic Education Classes
Literacy/Basic Skills
Adult Basic Education
G.E.D. Classes
English as a Second Language (E.S.L.)
Inside-Out Program
Vocational Programs:
The following vocational programs are offered to inmates at SCI Chester.
Barber School
Carpentry
HVAC Program (Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning)
Counseling Services:
Alternative to Violence
Sex Offenders Programming
Inmate Programs:
Community Education Centers (CEC)
SCI-CHESTER AOD TREATMENT PROGRAM
The treatment program at SCI-Chester is a collaborative effort between the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections and Community Education Centers, Inc. (CEC). This collaboration has been formed to rehabilitate inmates with a history of substance abuse. The treatment program is operated by Community Education Centers, Inc.
The treatment program utilizes several levels of care to accommodate the treatment needs of the offenders. The following levels of care are utilized:
Therapeutic Communities (TC’s): Each TC housing unit houses approximately 64 inmates.
There are currently 5 TC sites in operation:
- Four General Population TC (AA, AC, AD & BC).
- One Hispanic TC (BB). Program materials and language are conducted entirely in Spanish.
The TC’s are designed to service those offenders who are alcohol or drug-dependent or have a severe abuse problem.
Ancillary Services:
CEC provides ancillary groups to provide services to those offenders who have special needs. These programs include “Violence Prevention/Moderate and High Intensity” and “Batterers’ Intervention” – a specific therapy group for domestic violence-related offenders.
visitation Info
State Correctional Institution – SCI Chester PA – Visitation
Visiting Hours – General Population
- Monday: 2:30 PM to 8:30 PM
- Tuesday: CLOSED
- Wednesday: CLOSED
- Thursday: 2:30 PM to 8:30 PM
- (CLOSED the first Thursday of every month.)
- Friday: 2:30 PM to 8:30 PM
- Saturday: 2:30 PM to 8:30 PM
- Sunday: 2:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Maximum Number of Visitors Per Inmate
4 adults and 4 children
State Correctional Institution – SCI Chester PA – Visiting Hours
State Correctional Institution – SCI Chester PA – Visitation Rules