The El Dorado Correctional Facility (EDCF), Kansas’ newest correctional facility, was constructed as a result of a 1988 class action lawsuit challenging prison conditions. The $58 million facility was originally constructed to house 640 adult male residents with the potential for future expansion of 725 additional beds. In 1995, a 115-bed, medium-custody dormitory was created by modifying an existing industrial building. In 2001, two additional cell houses were activated at the central unit at a cost of $17.5 million. EDCF's Central Unit opened in January 1991.

Located one mile east of El Dorado on State Highway 54, EDCF is designed to house special management, maximum- and medium-custody residents.  Residents assigned to the Central Unit are usually repeat offenders with a history of violent behavior.

EDCF's philosophy is that residents are sentenced to incarceration as punishment, not for punishment. During a resident's incarceration, it is our responsibility to increase residents' abilities and motivations to practice responsible, pro-social, crime-free behavior through the provision of programs and services designed to assist with both risk reduction and reentry efforts.

EDCF houses the most dangerous and recalcitrant residents assigned to long-term involuntary segregation. Also, all male offenders sentenced to the custody of the Secretary of Corrections are received and processed through the EDCF Reception and Diagnostic Unit (RDU). In RDU, residents receive orientation and are assigned to a custody classification, appropriate programs and a permanent housing assignment. The management and activities at EDCF impact the entire corrections system due to the specialized nature of our operation. 

As with other facilities under the management of the Secretary of Corrections, education, health services and food services are provided through contracts with private vendors.

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