CDCR - Valley State Prison (VSP)

Valley State Prison (VSP) is a CDCR Level II general-population men's institution at 21633 Avenue 24 in Chowchilla, Madera County, California. Originally constructed in 1995 as Valley State Prison for Women (VSPW), the facility was converted to a men's prison beginning in October 2012 and completed the transition by January 2013 following California's Assembly Bill 109 (Public Safety Realignment) that reduced the state's female inmate population. Today VSP is one of CDCR's more program-heavy institutions: it serves as a re-entry hub, delivers educational and vocational programming to roughly 2,400 incarcerated men, and operates an Enhanced Outpatient Program (EOP) for men with serious mental illness. Under Acting Warden O'Brian Bailey, in the role since July 2024, and Health Care CEO Raul Recarey, VSP shares the Chowchilla campus area with the neighboring Central California Women's Facility (CCWF). This guide covers weekend visitation through the CDCR VSA, mail routing to PO Box 92 with separate MoneyGram (PO Box 94) and Legal Mail (PO Box 96) addresses, deposits, free ViaPath calls, and the education/reentry programming that distinguishes VSP.

About Valley State Prison: from women's prison to men's re-entry hub

Valley State Prison originally opened in 1995 as Valley State Prison for Women (VSPW), one of two women's prisons operating on the same Chowchilla campus (alongside the Central California Women's Facility, CCWF). By 2012, California's female incarcerated population had dropped substantially following Assembly Bill 109's Public Safety Realignment, which shifted lower-level felony sentences from state prison to county jails. CDCR consolidated women's operations at CCWF and converted VSPW to a men's institution, completing the transition by January 2013 and renaming it Valley State Prison (VSP).

Today VSP operates as a Level II general-population men's institution — a lower-custody classification that supports program participation and re-entry preparation more than the tightly-controlled Level IV environment at maximum-security prisons. VSP is one of CDCR's most active education sites: roughly 2,400 incarcerated men participate in academic programming including GED, associate's degree, and bachelor's degree tracks through the Prison University Project, Cal State, and community college partnerships, plus vocational training in welding, carpentry, HVAC, and other trades. Substance-abuse treatment, cognitive behavioral interventions, and leisure-activity programming round out the offerings. The Enhanced Outpatient Program (EOP) provides mental-health services for men with serious mental illness.

Every incarcerated person at VSP has a CDCR number that follows him across California's whole system. Because CDCR moves people between institutions as classification and program needs change, confirm the current facility through CIRIS or on AllRecentArrests.us before mailing or traveling. Chowchilla is in the Central Valley and is accessible by car from Fresno (about 30 minutes), Merced (about 30 minutes), the Bay Area (about 3 hours), and Los Angeles (about 4-5 hours).

Visitation at VSP through the CDCR VSA

Visits at VSP are held on Saturdays, Sundays, and CDCR-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 VSP is a Level II general-population institution, most visits are contact visits in a shared visiting room, which is a friendlier environment for children and older family members than the higher-custody visiting rooms at maximum-security prisons.

Before scheduling, you must be approved on the visitor list. That process starts with CDCR Form 106 (Visitor Questionnaire) that the incarcerated person requests, mails to you, and you complete and return for a background check. Once approved, register with the VSA using the CDCR number, pick a slot several days ahead, and bring a valid government-issued photo ID. Dress within CDCR's visiting-room 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.

How to send money to a VSP inmate

VSP 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. VSP additionally has a dedicated MoneyGram deposit address at PO Box 94, Chowchilla, CA 93610-0094 for MoneyGram-routed deposits — use this specific PO Box for MoneyGram to ensure proper routing rather than the general inmate-mail PO Box 92. California's 50-percent restitution garnishment applies to non-exempt deposits. Our how to send money to an inmate and JPay guide cover the mechanics.

Mail to a VSP inmate: PO Box 92, with separate MoneyGram and Legal addresses

VSP uses three distinct PO Boxes for different purposes:

• Personal mail: Inmate Name and CDCR Number, PO Box 92, Chowchilla, CA 93610-0092
• MoneyGram deposits: PO Box 94, Chowchilla, CA 93610-0094
• Legal mail: PO Box 96, Chowchilla, CA 93610-0096

Include your full return address on all correspondence. Legal mail from an attorney or court, clearly marked as legal correspondence, is opened only in the inmate's presence. 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. 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.

Phone calls and education programming

Phone service at VSP 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. Because VSP's programming load is heavy (roughly 2,400 men in education alone), your loved one's daily schedule may include classroom time, work assignments, and program groups that structure when calls can happen — a predictable call rhythm helps both sides plan around his class schedule.

The education programming at VSP is genuinely worth engaging with as a family member. GED completion, associate's or bachelor's degree progress, and vocational certificates completed at VSP are meaningful reentry preparation and often carry weight at parole hearings. Ask your loved one what programs he is enrolled in and support his engagement.

Legal mail, emergencies, and avoiding scams

Legal or privileged mail is opened only in the inmate's presence when properly marked, and the dedicated Legal Mail PO Box 96 helps ensure proper routing. For urgent family emergencies such as a death, serious illness, or birth, call VSP at (559) 665-6100 and ask to be connected to the chaplain's office to relay the message. Keep the CDCR number handy. If you are worried about your loved one's medical care, mental health, or safety inside — particularly if he is in EOP — contact staff directly and keep a written record. External escalation paths include the Prison Law Office and the CDCR Office of the Ombudsman.

Inside Valley State Prison: how the facility is laid out

Valley State Prison was constructed and dedicated in 1995, originally as Valley State Prison for Women. The facility holds people at Level II general population.

The institution houses people requiring Sensitive Needs Yard placement and has been identified as a re-entry hub, with a focus on substance abuse treatment and cognitive behavioural training.

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 Valley State Prison is right now

Valley State Prison was designed to hold 1,961 people. As of July 22, 2026 the agency reported a population of 2,919, which is 148.9% of that design capacity.

A prison operating at this level is not simply full — it is well past the number it was built for, and that shows up in the things families actually feel. Expect converted dayrooms and gymnasiums used as housing, long waits for medical and dental appointments, program and education waitlists, and visiting slots that fill early. It also drives transfers: when one institution is over capacity, people get moved to wherever there is a bed, sometimes hundreds of miles away.

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 above 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 Valley State Prison different

Valley State Prison does not operate as an ordinary general-population prison. Its designated role is conversion from a women's prison to a men's prison, and that changes what you should expect from it.

The institution was originally Valley State Prison for Women. In October 2012 it began converting from an all-female to an all-male institution, and the conversion was completed in January 2013 — which is why records from before 2013 refer to a women's facility at this address.

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 Valley State Prison

The senior official on site is O'Brian Bailey, acting Warden since July 2024. 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 (559) 665-6100. 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 Valley State Prison

Academic programming at Valley State Prison includes 14 classes of Adult Basic Education levels I, II and III, GED, Transitions, high school, associate degrees through Feather River, Coastline and Merced community colleges and a bachelor's degree programme through California State University, Fresno. 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 Automotive Mechanics, Building Maintenance, Cosmetology, Computer and Related Technology, Small Engine Repair, Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning, Welding, Electrical Works, Carpentry, Plumbing and Masonry. 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: a farm operation, eyewear manufacturing, laundry and healthcare facilities maintenance. 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 Valley State Prison: the current schedule

Valley State Prison 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, so the approval application has to be 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 at VSP

Keeping the CDCR number, current housing yard and program enrollments, VSA login, Connect Network/JPay receipts, MoneyGram routing (PO Box 94 for VSP specifically), and any Board of Parole Hearings dates organized in one place carries families through VSP with the least added friction. If someone you love has just been transferred to Valley State Prison, focus first on the essentials: write down their CDCR number and current facility yard, request CDCR Form 106 for visitor approval and register at cdcr.gtlvisitme.com/app once approved, set up Connect Network or JPay for deposits (using PO Box 94 specifically for MoneyGram), and mail personal correspondence to PO Box 92 with legal mail to PO Box 96. Register your phone at connectnetwork.com for free CDCR calls. Ask about the education, vocational, and reentry programs he can enroll in — Valley State's program depth is a genuine advantage. 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.

Prison University Project and college-in-prison programs at VSP

VSP's education programming, particularly at the associate's and bachelor's degree levels, is delivered through partnerships that include community colleges and the Prison University Project (PUP) network. Nationally, in-prison college programs have expanded dramatically since the Pell Grant restoration for incarcerated students in 2023, and California has been at the front of that expansion. If your loved one is enrolled in a degree program at VSP, understanding which college partner is providing his classes, what degree he is pursuing, and his expected completion timeline is meaningful support — a college degree completed inside significantly improves post-release employment outcomes and can be reflected in parole-hearing outcomes.

Vocational training and post-release employment

VSP's vocational training in welding, carpentry, HVAC, and other trades is designed to align with California workforce needs where reentering people can be hired quickly with relevant certifications. California operates fair-chance-hiring policies that give returning citizens legal protections in the hiring process, and many of the trades VSP trains are covered by state and local fair-chance hiring initiatives. If your loved one is completing a vocational program, ask about the specific industry certification he will hold at release (Cal-Trans certifications, OSHA cards, trade certifications) and start identifying potential employers in the metro area he plans to return to before release.