CDCR - California State Prison, Sacramento (SAC)

California State Prison, Sacramento (SAC) — universally known as "New Folsom" because it opened in 1986 on the same 882-acre Represa campus as the older Folsom State Prison — is one of CDCR's principal Level IV maximum-security men's institutions and one of its designated intensive mental-health treatment sites. Under Warden Jason Schultz, who was appointed in August 2025, SAC operates 24 housing units across a Level IV general-population complex plus a Level I Minimum Support Facility. What sets SAC apart from other CDCR maximum-security prisons is its concentration of specialized mental-health programming: the Psychiatric Services Unit (PSU) and Enhanced Outpatient (EOP) programs are core to SAC's rehabilitative mission. For families with a loved one at New Folsom, this guide covers the weekend visitation and VSA scheduling, mail to PO Box 290001, the Represa area drive, Connect Network and JPay deposits under California's 50-percent restitution rule, and the important mental-health context that shapes daily operations.

About CSP Sacramento and its Level IV mental-health mission

New Folsom opened in 1986 next to the historic Folsom State Prison and initially operated under Folsom's warden. In October 1992 it was renamed California State Prison, Sacramento and became an independent institution with its own administration. SAC was designed and has always operated as a Level IV maximum-security prison — the highest general-population custody designation in the CDCR system — and its housing is celled rather than dormitory. Level IV means tighter movement control, more restrictive visiting rules, and heavier custody oversight than at Levels I, II, or III.

What makes SAC distinctive within California's Level IV prison group is its designation as an intensive mental-health treatment site. The Psychiatric Services Unit (PSU) provides secure, structured psychiatric care for men whose mental-health needs cannot be met in general population, and the Enhanced Outpatient (EOP) program serves men with serious mental illness who can be managed in a modified general-population setting with extra treatment resources. Together with a Level I Minimum Support Facility, this makes SAC a complex, mission-heavy institution where a loved one's specific housing assignment shapes almost everything about the family's day-to-day experience.

Every incarcerated person at SAC has a CDCR number that follows him across California's whole system. Because CDCR moves people between institutions and internal housing assignments as classification, program, and clinical needs change, confirm the current facility through CDCR's CIRIS or by searching on AllRecentArrests.us before mailing or traveling. Our guide on how to find someone in jail or prison covers the search process more generally.

Visitation at CSP Sacramento through the CDCR VSA

Visits at CSP Sacramento are held on Saturdays, Sundays, and observed holidays. Every visit must be scheduled in advance through the CDCR Visitor Scheduling Application (VSA) at cdcr.gtlvisitme.com/app — walk-in visits are turned away. Because SAC is a Level IV facility with a significant mental-health mission, visits may be contact (in a shared visiting room) or non-contact (through a partition) depending on the incarcerated person's custody status, housing assignment, and clinical status. Family members visiting men in the PSU or EOP should expect the visit to look different from a general-population contact visit — there may be more staff involvement, shorter duration, or additional protocols depending on the person's current clinical picture.

Before scheduling, you must be approved on the visitor list. That process starts inside the prison: the incarcerated person requests CDCR Form 106 (Visitor Questionnaire), mails it to you, and you complete and return it for a background check that typically takes several weeks. Once approved, register with the VSA using the CDCR number and book a slot several days ahead. Bring a valid government-issued photo ID, dress within CDCR's visiting rules (no clothing resembling the inmate uniform, no gang colors, no revealing clothing, no open-toed shoes), and expect a search on arrival. Only a small amount of cash is allowed inside for vending machines; leave phones and everything else in the car. Because Represa is a straightforward drive from Sacramento (about 25 miles east) and a longer trip from the Bay Area or Southern California, plan travel accordingly.

How to send money to a CSP Sacramento inmate

SAC inmates fund their trust and canteen accounts through the CDCR-wide channels: Access Corrections' Connect Network and JPay for electronic deposits, plus a mailed-check option through JPay's Los Angeles lockbox. Connect Network is the CDCR-contracted trust deposit route (accesscorrections.com or by phone) and typically posts fastest. JPay handles both electronic deposits and mailed checks; money orders and checks should be made payable to JPay and sent with a completed JPay deposit slip to JPay, 2202 South Figueroa St, Box #3001, Los Angeles, CA 90007. There is no processing fee for mailed money orders or checks, though checks may sit on a longer hold.

The California-wide rule to plan around is CDCR's requirement to garnish 50 percent of any non-exempt deposit toward restitution the person owes, so if your loved one has an active restitution balance, only half of what you send may reach spendable. Deposits stay with the person across transfers. Our how to send money to an inmate and JPay guide cover the mechanics.

Mail to a CSP Sacramento inmate: PO Box 290001 for personal mail

Personal mail for CSP Sacramento inmates goes to Inmate Name and CDCR Number, PO Box 290001, Represa, CA 95671. Warden's office correspondence uses PO Box 290002, which is a separate address for administrative matters — use PO Box 290001 for personal inmate mail. Include your full return address (letters without one are frequently rejected) and write the housing assignment on the envelope when you have it. Legal mail from an attorney or court, clearly marked as legal correspondence, is opened only in the inmate's presence and should be sent separately from personal letters.

Follow California's prohibited-items rules: no cash, personal checks, stamps, stickers, glitter, glue, tape, staples, paperclips, Polaroids, hardcover books, musical or embellished cards, or anything with electronics or metallic elements. Use plain white paper with pen or clear print. Books and publications generally must come directly from the publisher or an approved online retailer. Our how to send mail to an inmate covers the format and common rejection triggers.

Phone calls: free through ViaPath since January 2023

Phone service at CSP Sacramento, like every CDCR institution, has been free of charge to the incarcerated caller since January 1, 2023 under California's Keep Families Connected Act (SB 1008). Calls run through ViaPath/GTL's ConnectNetwork platform. Register your phone number at connectnetwork.com on the inmate's approved calling list before your loved one can dial you. For families of men in the PSU or EOP, regular free-phone contact can be a meaningful part of the clinical picture, since consistent family engagement is one of the factors clinicians look at when evaluating stability and step-down eligibility. Packages are allowed only through CDCR-approved vendors. Our guide to calling an inmate, care package guide, and commissary explainer cover the details.

Coleman v. Newsom and mental-health advocacy at SAC

Because SAC is a designated PSU/EOP site, it is one of the CDCR institutions closely monitored under Coleman v. Newsom (formerly Coleman v. Wilson), the long-running federal class-action lawsuit over mental-health care in the California prison system. The Coleman Special Master and plaintiff counsel receive periodic reports on mental-health treatment at CDCR institutions, and families with specific concerns about mental-health care for a loved one at SAC have an established external escalation path through the Prison Law Office, which serves as class counsel. Contact the prison directly first, document any specific incidents or care gaps in writing, and know that persistent problems can be escalated to the class monitoring team.

Legal mail, emergencies, and avoiding scams

Legal or privileged mail is opened only in the inmate's presence when properly marked. For urgent family emergencies, call SAC at (916) 985-8610 and ask to be connected to the chaplain's office to relay the message. Keep the CDCR number handy. If you are worried about a loved one's medical care, mental health, or safety inside — particularly if he is in PSU or EOP — contact staff directly, keep a written record, and escalate in writing if the initial response is inadequate. Be cautious about paying third-party sites for lookup or deposit services — CDCR's CIRIS and the named providers are the authoritative channels.

Inside California State Prison, Sacramento: how the facility is laid out

California State Prison, Sacramento has been in operation since 1986. It occupies about 882 acres and holds people at Level IV and a Level I Minimum Support Facility. The population is split across twenty-four semi-autonomous 180-design housing units plus a stand-alone Administrative Segregation Unit, which is the detail that most often explains why two people at the same address live under different visiting, phone, and movement rules.

The institution states its mission as serving the public by safely and humanely housing maximum and high-security offenders, as well as those requiring specialized mental health programming and those with high-risk medical concerns.

Layout matters more than families expect. Which yard or unit someone is assigned to drives their custody level, their program eligibility, and often their visiting schedule — so when you call, having the housing assignment to hand will get you a useful answer faster than the name alone.

How crowded California State Prison, Sacramento is right now

California State Prison, Sacramento was designed to hold 1,828 people. As of July 22, 2026 the agency reported a population of 2,188, which is 119.7% of that design capacity.

Operating above design capacity is common and is not by itself a sign of a facility in crisis, but it does explain conditions families notice without being given a reason: temporary bunks, slower medical response, waitlists for programs, and visiting slots that fill early.

For scale, the same report puts the state's institutions as a whole at 86,006 people against a design capacity of 71,074, or 121.0% — so this facility sits close to the system-wide figure rather than being an outlier.

This figure moves week to week. Treat it as the scale of the place rather than a live count, and confirm anything that affects a visit with the institution directly.

What makes California State Prison, Sacramento different

California State Prison, Sacramento does not operate as an ordinary general-population prison. Its designated role is mental health and high-risk medical programming, and that changes what you should expect from it.

The institution provides three of the four levels of mental health care used across the system: the Correctional Clinical Case Management System, the Enhanced Outpatient Program, and Mental Health Crisis Beds.

If your family member is here for a medical or mental-health reason rather than a custody one, ask specifically which unit they are on. That single answer determines their visiting schedule, their phone access, and who you need to speak to about their care.

Who runs California State Prison, Sacramento

The senior official on site is Jason Schultz, appointed in August 2025. Naming the warden is not just trivia: correspondence about a serious unresolved problem should be addressed to that post rather than to the institution generally, because a letter to a named office creates a record that a call to a switchboard does not.

The institution's main line is (916) 985-8610. Use it for anything urgent — a medical emergency, a safety concern, confirming whether visiting is running — and ask for the watch commander or the shift supervisor rather than leaving a message with whoever answers.

Education, training, and work at California State Prison, Sacramento

Academic programming at California State Prison, Sacramento includes Adult Basic Education, high school and GED, academics designated for the Enhanced Outpatient Program, the Peer Literacy Mentor Program, library and law library services, eLearning and Transitions. Enrolment is rarely immediate — most institutions run waitlists, and assignment depends on custody level, sentence length, and prior testing. If your family member wants a place, the request has to come from them through their assigned counsellor; a call from outside will not add someone to a list.

Vocational and career technical training on site includes janitorial services, office services, Computer Literacy, Electronics, Plumbing and Building Maintenance. These carry more weight than general programming, because completion is documented and can matter at a parole or release review as evidence of work done inside.

The facility also operates prison industry work assignments: administration, laundry and warehouse. These are paid positions, at correctional pay rates rather than market wages, and the earnings usually route into a trust account your family member can spend at the commissary. A work assignment is also the most common reason someone becomes hard to reach during the day.

Visiting California State Prison, Sacramento: the current schedule

California State Prison, Sacramento receives visitors on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with in-person visits offered for a minimum of two hours, though the exact session length varies by institution and availability.

Two things about that schedule are worth knowing before you drive. Published hours are when the visiting room is open, not when you can arrive — processing closes well before the room does, and arriving inside the last hour often means being turned away. And a published schedule is suspended more often than it is changed: lockdowns, staffing shortages, and medical isolation all cancel visiting at short notice, usually without the website being updated.

Visiting is booked through the department's Visitation Scheduling Application. The booking window opens eight days before the visit and closes five days before it, and the daily request period opens at 6:00 a.m. for northern institutions, 6:30 a.m. for central, and 7:00 a.m. for southern, running to 11:59 p.m. Only people already approved as visitors can book an appointment, so the approval application has to be completed and granted before any date can be reserved. Visits can be cancelled at any time for health and safety reasons, and can be ended early if staff see a visitor or a resident showing symptoms of a contagious illness.

Call the institution the morning you travel and ask specifically whether visiting is running on your family member's yard or unit — not whether the prison is open. Those are different questions, and the second one gets a misleadingly reassuring answer.

Records and your first steps

Keeping the CDCR number, current facility yard and program (Level IV general population, Level I MSF, PSU, or EOP), VSA login, Connect Network/JPay receipts, and any Board of Parole Hearings or Coleman-related dates organized in one place carries families through SAC with the least added friction. If someone you love has just been transferred to CSP Sacramento, focus first on the essentials: write down their CDCR number and current housing assignment, request CDCR Form 106 for visitor approval and register at cdcr.gtlvisitme.com/app once approved, set up Connect Network or JPay for deposits (knowing California withholds 50 percent for restitution), and mail to PO Box 290001, Represa, CA 95671 with legal mail clearly marked. Register your phone number at connectnetwork.com. As a parole date approaches, our guides on life after prison, finding work after prison, and applying for SNAP, Medicaid, and TANF after release cover what comes next.