Name:  Stevens Correctional Center

Facilities:  Stevens Facility | Welch Facility

Prison System: McDowell County Corrections; West Virginia Division of Corrections

Status: Active, run as the Stevens Correctional Center and Welch Facility since 2001

Location: Welch, McDowell County, West Virginia

Address: Stevens Facility: 795 Virginia Avenue, Welch, West Virginia 24801; Welch Facility: 50 Court St., Welch, West Virginia 24801

Mailing Address:                 

Stevens Correctional Center
795 Virginia Avenue
Welch, West Virginia 24801 

Phone Number: Stevens Administration: 304-436-5420; Welch Administration: 304-436-8530; inmates cannot receive phone calls

Fax Number:  Stevens Administration: 304-436-5413; Welch Administration: 304-436-8565; inmates cannot receive faxes

Warden: Ralph Terry (Acting Warden)

Offender Gender: Male and Female

Email: Inmates cannot receive emails, but you can direct email to an official at: [email protected]

Security Level: Level 2 and 3

Distinguishing Feature:  The Stevens Correctional Center and the Welch Facility are the only privately owned correctional facilities in the state of West Virginia.  Though they are privately owned, they are operated by the McDowell County Commission.

Number of Inmates: The Stevens Correctional Center is operated in conjunction with the Welch Facility.  The Welch Facility’s Maximum capacity is 108 inmates.  The Stevens Facility’s maximum capacity is 322. 

Employees: 150 employees between the Stevens Correctional Center and the Welch Facility. 

The Stevens Correctional Center (formerly the Stevens Clinic Hospital) which is run in conjunction with the Welch Facility (formerly the McDowell County Jail), was established in 1991 to meet the evolving correctional needs of McDowell County.  The Welch Facility was previously operated by the Federal Court System, and complies with federal correctional facility standards.  When the Stevens Correctional Center was converted from the Stevens Clinic Hospital, it was also constructed to comply with federal and state standards.

The inmates at Stevens Correctional Center and the Welch Facility are Level 2 and Level 3 inmates.  The West Virginia Division of Corrections Offender Orientation Manual contains a complete explanation of how inmates are classified. 

The living conditions at the Stevens Correctional Center and the Welch Facility have been the subject of some concern in West Virginia, which prompted the transfer of an assistant warden from another state facility to Stevens Correctional Center in January, 2016.  Though the reasons for concern have not been made public, the fact that the state responded to those concerns indicates that there should be some improvement in living conditions for inmates at the facility.  Like other West Virginia prisons, inmates complain of overcrowding.  There are also concerns that overcrowding has resulted, in the past, in Level 4 inmates being held at the facility in addition to the Level 2 and Level 3 inmates.  Otherwise, inmates and family members report that the staff is courteous and responsive to inmate and family concerns.  However, inmates and family members do indicate that receiving adequate healthcare services can be very difficult.    

Offenders in West Virginia prison facilities have access to 8 broad types of prison programming: addiction services; affective/ social skills; crime specific programs for batterers or sex offenders; educational studies; life skills programs; religious services; recreational services; and vocational training. 

The Stevens Correctional Center is composed of the Stevens Facility and the Welch Facility. Formerly, the Stevens Correctional Center was the Stevens Clinic Hospital. The Welch Facility was once a federally run prison facility.