Prison System: Minnesota Department of Corrections. 

Status: Active, opened in 1989

Offender Gender: Male

Security Level: Level 2 (minimum), Level 3 (medium)

Distinguishing Feature:  The Minnesota Correctional Facility Faribault is the largest prison, by population, in Minnesota.  It has a specialized ward to provide care for inmates who are not able to engage in self-care, including inmates who are suffering from the impact of aging and inmates who are suffering from disorders or disabilities.    

The Minnesota Correctional Facility Faribault has a medium security facility inside of a secure perimeter, with two minimum security facilities outside of the perimeter.   Once a state hospital, it was converted to prison in order to help transfer many of the state’s inmates from private prison facilities to the state’s prison facility. 

The prison contains specialized units aimed at meeting specific inmate needs.  It has a 172 bed treatment unit for substance abusers, and a unit for offenders who are unable to care for themselves because of aging or other conditions.  Another unique feature of the prison is that it has partnered with Can-Do-Canines program, which uses offenders to train service dogs.

The State of Minnesota maintains very detailed information on the inmates at each of its correctional facilities, which is regularly updated and available to the public.  This information provides an overview of the inmates at each correctional facility on a certain date.  Where an offender will be sent depends on a number of factors.  Offenders are classified according to a five-level classification system; Faribault houses level 1 and level 2 minimum security offenders and level 3 medium security offenders.  An offender’s level is not determined solely by the crime committed; it also depends on the offender’s sentence length, criminal history, escape history, and prior incarcerations, as well as the needs of the department of corrections, as a whole.  You can access an updated pdf file with the information here.  As a minimum and medium level facility, the Minnesota Correctional Facility Faribault does not have any inmates who are serving life sentences without the possibility of parole, but does have inmates who have received parole-eligible life sentences. 

Living conditions at Faribault vary according to the inmate’s placement in either medium or minimum security, whether the inmate is in segregation, and whether the inmate lives in the medical care ward, the substance abuse treatment ward, or in a regular unit.  Until 2013, the entire Minnesota Department of Corrections experienced some problems with the provision of healthcare services to inmates, which resulted in a change from the old healthcare provider to a contract with a private firm to provide those services. 

Inmates in medium security are housed in four K-shaped buildings, which are centered around a control rotunda.  They live in two-bunk cells and have some freedom of movement.  The inmates in minimum security live in a less secured environment and may work in community work crews, which take them outside of the prison. 

One of the most significant differences for prisoners and their families, in terms of living conditions, impacts those prisoners who have placed in segregation.  Segregation means that the inmate is not part of the general population, and inmates are generally placed in segregation for infractions committed while incarcerated.  Inmates in segregation do not get in-person visits.  Visitors may come to the facility and “visit” with the inmate over video cameras.

The prison has educational program allows inmates to participate in GED and adult basic education (ABE) programs.  Inmates can also get vocational/technical training in a number of trades, including: flooring, drywall, and woodworking. 

One noteworthy program at the prison is a partnership with Can Do Canines.  Inmates participate in the training of service dogs for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or otherwise disabled. They train approximately 30 dogs per year, which are then placed with people who need service dogs. 

The Minnesota Correctional Facility Faribault is one of the locations for MINNCOR Industries, the Minnesota Department of Correction’s industrial branch. As with other states, prisoners in Minnesota are given the opportunity to work in order to earn money for their extras while in prison.  Prisoners may be involved in a variety of different jobs, including: wood furniture manufacturing, laundry, cleaning products, and subcontracting.  Prisoners may also be on community work crews, which provide services to surrounding communities.

The Minnesota Correctional Facility Faribault was formerly a state hospital, which closed in the 1980s.  It was converted into a prison facility.  Later, the four k-style dormitories of the medium security portion of the prison were constructed, which made the prison the largest, in terms of population capacity, in the entire state.  The goal was to transfer to the supervision of many prisoners back to the Minnesota Department of Corrections and away from some of the private prison contractors.