Decatur Correctional Center is Illinois’ Minimum-Security women’s prison.
Read JHA's latest report here. (PDF)
Vital Statistics
Population: 690
Rated Capacity: 500
Operational Capacity: 719
Average Annual Cost Per Inmate: $39,154
Average age of Inmate: 36
Racial Demographics of the Population: White, 54%, Black, 38%, Hispanic, 7%, Asian, 1%.
(Source: IDOC 7/1/2012)
Key Observations
- Decatur is home to innovative rehabilitative programs that promote positive mental health and strong parenting relationships. These programs include the acclaimed “Moms and Babies” prison nursery program, a Reunification Program where women live in a special housing unit where they can regularly visit their children, a mental health group-therapy program that uses an on-site service dog, and a “Parent & Child Together” program that uses of video visitation.
- Decatur, like other IDOC facilities, suffers chronic understaffing of medical personnel. Staffing for nursing and dental care is insufficient to meet the population’s needs.
- Healthcare issues predominated over all other inmate concerns. In particular, inmates reported that the medical co-payment frustrated their access care. This is particularly dangerous as female inmates require even more medical and mental health services than male inmates.
Read JHA's 2012 report here. (PDF)
Read JHA's 2011 report on Decatur here. (PDF)
