SCI Waymart

On October 26, 1989, the State Correctional Institution at Waymart opened its doors approximately one year ahead of schedule to help deal with the aftermath of the riots that destroyed a major portion of the State Correctional Institution at Camp Hill. At the time, the facility, which had been operated by the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare as Farview State Hospital, had ample unused building space that immediately could be utilized for inmate housing. On October 29, 1989, 239 inmates displaced by the riots at SCI Camp Hill were moved to SCI Waymart.

From 1989 to 1995, Farview State Hospital and SCI Waymart operated as separate entities under the jurisdiction of two state agencies. In October 1995, Farview State Hospital, a maximum-security forensic psychiatric hospital, was placed under the jurisdiction of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections and designated as a Forensic Treatment Center. The Forensic Treatment Center (FTC) at SCI Waymart serves as the focal point for the treatment of all psychiatric inmates within the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. Inmates from surrounding county correctional facilities who require intensive psychiatric care and treatment also can be committed to the FTC by court order.

In 1999, SCI Waymart opened a 50-bed Intermediate Care Unit (ICU). This unit is a non-court committed mental health unit that provides extended treatment to inmates who no longer need in-patient treatment at the FTC but continue to need psychiatric care to help deal with the stress of general population.

The construction of Farview State Hospital for the Criminally Insane was completed in 1911 and the facility opened one year later. Over the years, the facility has undergone a series of construction projects and internal modifications to augment security, to provide additional work space, and to improve both the working and living conditions of staff and inmates. The inner perimeter of the institution consists of 33 buildings interconnected by a series of corridors. In addition, the institution utilizes a number of buildings outside its perimeter for various purposes including a garage, utility plant, warehouse, staff residences, administrative offices  and housing for inmates with outside clearance status.

Facility Information

Total Number of Acres Inside Perimeter: 19.5

Total Number of Acres Outside Perimeter: 325

Total Number of Buildings: 54

Number of Housing Units: 25

Special Features: Open Dorms, Personal Care Unit, Mental Health Unit, Forensic Treatment Unit, Residential Treatment Unit

Average Number of Full-Time Employees: 822

Inmate Information

Inmate Population: Current Inmate Population

PA Correctional Industries: SCI Waymart operates a garment plant that employs 90 inmates. This plant produces officers, maintenance and food service staff uniforms and rain gear for the state prisons, as well as rain gear for the PA Department of Transportation.

Community Work Program: SCI Waymart’s Community Work Program works with PennDOT District 4 out of Dunmore for litter clean-up on various roads and highways. When the crew is not out on the road helping to keep Pennsylvania beautiful, they work on various projects for local picnics, festivals, and municipality projects.

Reentry Service Office: In order to ease a reentrant’s transition after release and improve community reintegration, the Reentry Service Offices (RSOs) are designed to provide information and services to inmates who are within 18 months to their minimum and/or release date. Reentry Parole Agents (RPAs) oversee the RSOs and work with other DOC staff members to facilitate various workshops including Life Skills, Budgeting, Digital Literacy — among many others. The RSO utilizes its computer lab to assist reentrants with resume writing, job searches, as well as providing community connections for services they may need upon release.

Academic Education

• GED Preparation
• Commonwealth Secondary School Diploma

Vocational Programs

• NCCER
  • Your Role in the Green Environment
  • CORE
  • General Contracting
• NOCTI
  • ACF Cooks
  • ACF Retail Commercial Baking
• ServSafe manager    
• Cosmetology

Inmate Programs

• Therapeutic Community
• Outpatient SUD Groups
• Co-occurring Outpatient SUD
• AA/NA/SMART Support Meetings
• Sex Offender Treatment Programming
• Interpersonal Violence for Domestic Abusers
• Violence Prevention for Moderate/ High Risk Offenders
• Thinking for a Change
• Seeking Safety
• Impact of Crime
• Inside Out Dad
• Long-Term Offender