York CI, founded in 1918, houses all of the state of Connecticut's female offenders, both pretrial and sentenced. It is the state's sole female facility. The population of this prison as of July 2008 is about 1350 offenders.

York CI has an intensive drug treatment unit as well as a Hospice program to train volunteer inmates in end of life care. The correctional institution also includes a reentry center, an employment program using inmates for data entry in other state agencies, the prison PUP program where assistance dogs are raised and trained and Girl Scouts Behind Bars that allows for more visitation for daughters of inmates.

New York Times Bestselling author, Wally Lamb, taught a creative writing workshop at the prison. In 2004, there was controversy over the fact that lamb accused prison officials of erasing hard drives that included up to 5 years of personal writing by 15 inmates.

Department of Correction Commissioner Theresa Lantz halted the writing program on March 29 after learning that inmate Barbara Parsons Lane had won a $25,000 PEN American Center prize for her work on the 2003 book Couldn't Keep It to Myself: Wally Lamb and the Women of York Correctional Institution (Testimonies from our Imprisoned Sisters)

Prison destroys inmates writing

Complaints have been raised about the state of the water in York Correctional Institution. It has been reported to be brown and is inmates only source for water. Bottled water is brought in for staff and the puppies trained in the PUP program.

DOC: York CI

York Correctional Institution - Prison Talk

York Correctional Institution -- Sightseeing with Google Satellite Maps

York Correctional Institution | Pound Pup Legacy

prison pup partnership

York CI

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