Charleston Correctional Custody
Charleston Correctional Center and Jail is operated by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Bureau of Community Corrections. It is physically in Charleston, but it is not the same kind of facility as South Central Regional Jail. South Central is the main regional jail for Kanawha County pretrial and sentenced local custody. Charleston Correctional Center and Jail is a minimum-security, Level 1-2 community corrections setting for selected program custody.
The official facility page says Charleston Correctional Center and Jail opened May 1, 2015. It replaced the older Charleston Work Release Center, which had operated in Charleston since 1972. The facility includes a 96-bed coeducational work-release unit and a 32-bed female Residential Substance Abuse Treatment unit, often called RSAT. Work release means approved residents may take part in employment while still under correctional custody. RSAT is a structured substance-abuse treatment program housed inside a correctional setting.
Charleston Correctional Capacity
The WVDCR FY2025 Annual Report lists Charleston Correctional Center and Jail with a rated population of 128. The official facility page gives the bed split: 96 coeducational work-release beds and 32 female RSAT beds. Those numbers describe program capacity, not a public live count of people in the building at a given moment. A person may be in WVDCR custody in Charleston because of a program placement, not because they were just booked after a new street arrest.
| Custody Element | Sourced Detail | Meaning for Lookup |
|---|---|---|
| Rated population | 128 | Facility capacity figure from WVDCR FY2025. |
| Work release | 96 coeducational beds | Residents are in custody but tied to approved program rules. |
| RSAT | 32 female beds | Residential treatment custody, not ordinary jail intake. |
| Security level | Minimum security, Level 1-2 | Different from high-turnover regional jail custody. |
Charleston Correctional Lookup
Because Charleston Correctional Center and Jail is a WVDCR community corrections facility, search should begin with WVDCR tools and then be verified by phone when the question is program-specific. The WVDCR offender-search landing page links to jail, prison, daily incarceration, and escapee or absconder tools. The regional jail search may help if the person is still in jail custody. The WVDCR prison offender search applies when the person is in sentenced prison custody.
- Start at the WVDCR offender-search landing page and choose the custody tool that fits the case.
- Search by name, or by Offender ID when a DOC number is known.
- Do not assume a recent Kanawha arrest is at Charleston Correctional Center and Jail.
- Call the facility when the listing suggests work release, RSAT, or other program custody.
- Use court search for formal case charges, bond terms, and case disposition.
Custody distinction: New Kanawha County arrests normally start with regional jail tools. Charleston Correctional Center and Jail is for community corrections and treatment custody.
Charleston Correctional Contact
Facility staff are the correct contact for program custody, visiting eligibility, mail questions, and day-to-day rules at Charleston Correctional Center and Jail. The Kanawha County Sheriff's Office is not the operator of this WVDCR facility. If the issue is an arrest report or incident record created by the sheriff, use the sheriff's records or FOIA channel. If the issue is a facility rule or program status, contact WVDCR or the Charleston facility.
Charleston Correctional Center and Jail
1356 Hansford Street
Charleston, WV 25301
(304) 340-6921
Fax: (304) 558-1537
The FY2025 annual report lists the facility in Kanawha County and names Pamela or Pam Baldwin as superintendent. Users should treat the phone number as the best public confirmation point for current visiting, mail, and program rules because the official facility page does not publish the same detailed public visitation schedule that appears on South Central's page.
Charleston Correctional Visits
The official Charleston Correctional Center and Jail page reviewed did not publish a public visitation schedule. That gap is important because this is not a standard regional jail with the same public non-contact schedule as South Central. Work-release and RSAT residents may have program rules, eligibility limits, or scheduling rules that differ from ordinary jail visitation. Visitors should verify approval, identification, dress code, property limits, and timing directly with the facility before traveling.
| Visit Question | Published Detail | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Public schedule | No schedule located on the official facility page. | Call (304) 340-6921 before planning a visit. |
| Custody type | Work release and female RSAT program custody. | Ask whether the resident is eligible for visits. |
| Identification | No facility-specific visitor ID list published in the reviewed page. | Confirm required ID and approval steps with staff. |
| Property and clothing | No detailed local list published in the reviewed page. | Follow current WVDCR and facility directions. |
Charleston Mail and Money
The official Charleston Correctional Center and Jail page did not publish a detailed mail-format rule, phone vendor, commissary vendor, tablet vendor, video-visit provider, or deposit fee table. That does not mean mail or deposits are unavailable. It means the public source reviewed did not document a reliable rule set for this facility. Program custody can also create limits that differ from regional jail rules, so verify with WVDCR or the facility first.
| Service | Public Detail Found | What to Confirm |
|---|---|---|
| No official detailed mail format located on the facility page. | Resident name, WVDCR number, approved address format, and content limits. | |
| Phone | No official vendor or fee schedule located. | Whether the resident has phone access under program rules. |
| Money deposit | No official deposit vendor or fee schedule located. | Approved vendor, fees, account identifier, and restrictions. |
| Property | No public property list located in the reviewed page. | Whether work-release or RSAT rules allow the item. |
Charleston Program Intake
Charleston Correctional Center and Jail should not be described as the first booking desk for ordinary Kanawha County arrests. A newly arrested person who remains in local custody is normally searched through the regional jail system and South Central Regional Jail. Charleston Correctional Center and Jail is better understood as a placement after WVDCR has identified a person for work release or RSAT. Intake is therefore tied to community corrections eligibility, program rules, treatment placement, and minimum-security custody.
That difference affects records. A Kanawha County arrest record may begin with a police agency and South Central custody, then court action may change bond, sentence, or placement. If the person is later assigned to a program, WVDCR records and facility confirmation become more useful than the local booking path. For current regional jail custody, use the Kanawha County jail inmate records page and official WVDCR regional jail search. For Charleston Correctional Center and Jail program custody, call the facility when the search result is not clear.
About Charleston Programs
The facility's identity is built around programs. The 96-bed coeducational work-release unit allows eligible residents to remain in correctional custody while participating in approved work. The 32-bed female RSAT unit provides residential substance-abuse treatment in a custody setting. The official page's history also gives the facility a local role: it replaced the aging Charleston Work Release Center, which had been part of the city since 1972.
Charleston Correctional Center and Jail is part of Kanawha County's broader custody map because a searched person can be in WVDCR custody in Charleston without being in the main regional jail population. It also helps explain why a name search can be confusing. Local custody, sentenced prison custody, community corrections custody, federal custody, and immigration custody use different systems. For custody alerts after a search, West Virginia VINE may help with notification, but it should be paired with direct facility confirmation when travel, mail, or program status matters.
Note: Confirm program custody, visit eligibility, and mailing rules with Charleston Correctional Center and Jail before acting.