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    SCI Chester

    Learn more about State Correctional Institution (SCI) Chester, a medium-security institution for males in Pennsylvania.

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    SCI Chester

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    Contact

    Facility address

    500 E. 4th Street 
    Chester, PA 19013 
    610-490-5412

    Inmate mail address

    Smart Communications/PADOC 
    Inmate Name/Inmate Number 
    Institution 
    PO Box 33028 
    St Petersburg, FL 33733

    Facility information

    • Current inmate population
    • Acres inside perimeter: 9
    • Acres outside perimeter: 4.77
    • Operational structures: 2
    • Housing units: 14
    • Average number of employees: 399
    • Special features: Little Scandinavia Housing Unit

    More about SCI Chester

    Reentry Service Office

    In order to ease a reentrant’s transition after release and improve community reintegration, the Reentry Service Offices (RSOs) are designed to provide information and services to inmates who are within 18 months to their minimum and/or release date. Reentry Parole Agents (RPAs) oversee the RSOs and work with other DOC staff members to facilitate various workshops including Life Skills, Budgeting, Digital Literacy — among many others. The RSO utilizes its computer lab to assist reentrants with resume writing, job searches, as well as providing community connections for services they may need upon release.

    Academic education

    • Basic Education
    • Literacy/Basic Skills
    • Adult Basic Education
    • GED
    • English as a Second Language
    • Money Smart
    • Pathways to Success
    • Victim Awareness Education
    • Business Education
    • Building Trades
    • Post-Secondary Education Options (Partnerships with UPenn, Villanova, Widener University, Saint Joseph’s University, and Wharton School of Business for workshops, and Eastern University for associate’s degree program)

    Vocational programs

    • Carpentry
    • Cosmetology

    Inmate programs

    • New Leash on Life
    • Community Education Centers (CEC)
    • SCI Chester AOD Treatment Program
    • Substance Use Disorder Outpatient
    • Thinking for a Change
    • Sex Offender Treatment Program
    • CBI-IPV: Cognitive Behavioral Intervention – Interpersonal Violence
    • Violence Prevention
    • Impact of Crime
    • Back on Track
    • Inside-Out
    • Dads R Fathers
    • Seeking Safety
    • Long Term Offenders Group
    • Parole Violator Phase 1 Programming

    • Superintendent: Gina Clark
    • Deputy Superintendent for Centralized Services: Keith Miller
    • Deputy Superintendent for Facilities Management: Laura Hoffman-Reed
    • Business Manager: Felicia Hatton
    • Superintendent's Assistant: Allison Murphy

    SCI Chester is an innovative facility that was designed to provide substance abuse treatment services in the institution and in the community at community corrections centers. This approach uses the expertise of public and private agencies in a broad-based effort. It focuses on treatment of inmates without losing sight of our primary responsibility for public safety.

    SCI Chester is the 24th state correctional institution to open in the Commonwealth. It is unique in its architectural structure and design. The housing units design was considered an ambitious move for correctional facilities during the 1980s.