State Correctional Institution – SCI Waymart

State Correctional Institution at Waymart opened its doors approximately one year ahead of schedule to help deal with the aftermath of the riots that destroyed a major portion of the State Correctional Institution at Camp Hill. At the time, the facility, which had been operated by the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare as Farview State Hospital, had ample unused building space that immediately could be utilized for inmate housing.

From 1989 to 1995, Farview State Hospital and SCI Waymart operated as separate entities under the jurisdiction of two state agencies. In October 1995, Farview State Hospital, a maximum-security forensic psychiatric hospital, was placed under the jurisdiction of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections and designated as a Forensic Treatment Center. The Forensic Treatment Center (FTC) at SCI Waymart serves as the focal point for the treatment of all psychiatric inmates within the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. Inmates from surrounding county correctional facilities who require intensive psychiatric care and treatment also can be committed to the FTC by court order.

In 1999, SCI Waymart opened a 50-bed Intermediate Care Unit (ICU). This unit is a non-court committed mental health unit that provides extended treatment to inmates who no longer need in-patient treatment at the FTC but continue to need psychiatric care to help deal with the stress of general population.

The construction of Farview State Hospital for the Criminally Insane was completed in 1911 and the facility opened one year later. Over the years, the facility has undergone a series of construction projects and internal modifications to augment security, to provide additional workspace, and to improve both the working and living conditions of staff and inmates. The inner perimeter of the institution consists of 33 buildings interconnected by a series of corridors. In addition, the institution utilizes a number of buildings outside its perimeter for various purposes including a garage, utility plant, warehouse, staff residences, administrative offices and housing for inmates with outside clearance status.

Total Number of Employees: 683

Total Number of Acres Inside Perimeter: 19

Total Number of Acres Outside Perimeter: 351

Total Number of Buildings: 50

A variety of educational, vocational and treatment programs are offered to the inmate population at SCI Waymart. The institution operates a Drug and Alcohol Unit, Sex Offender Treatment Program and a Personal Care Unit for inmates with a variety of medical problems.

Correctional Industries – SCI Waymart operates a garment plant that employs 120 inmates. This plant produces officers, maintenance and food service staff uniforms and rain gear for the state prisons, as well as rain gear for the PA Department of Transportation.