Yukon-Kuskokwim Correctional Center

A mixed-custody state correctional center in Bethel, Alaska, serving the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. It holds both pretrial and sentenced people and is in a remote community reachable mainly by plane.

Overview

Yukon-Kuskokwim Correctional Center is a state correctional center operated by the Alaska Department of Corrections. It is in Bethel, in the Bethel Census Area, on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in southwest Alaska. The facility is a regional facility for the surrounding delta region and holds both men and women in mixed custody, with a capacity of about 207. The Alaska DOC institutions page and the facility’s own page do not specify a single gender for the facility; it serves as a regional facility holding both men and women.

Because Alaska has a unified corrections system and no county jail system, Yukon-Kuskokwim Correctional Center holds both unsentenced (pretrial) and sentenced people. Alaska DOC assigns one of four custody levels — Community, Minimum, Medium, or Close — based on factors that include risk and needs, and a person’s custody level can change during incarceration. The custody class and housing unit held at a given facility affect visiting arrangements, so families confirm the arrangement that applies to the specific person before a first visit.

What Makes the Yukon-Kuskokwim Correctional Center Different

Yukon-Kuskokwim Correctional Center is the regional facility for the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, the large region of southwest Alaska around the lower Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers. Because Alaska’s corrections system is unified and there are no county jails, the facility holds both pretrial and sentenced people from the region in the same facility, and it holds both men and women.

The most significant factor for visitors is location. Bethel is not connected to Alaska’s road system and is reached mainly by plane; there is no highway route from Anchorage or other population centers. As a result, in-person visiting can require air travel and advance planning. The DOC can approve a longer special visit case by case for families traveling a long distance, which is relevant for a remote facility like this one.

Visiting

The statewide AK DOC rules above — the approved visitor list, the dress code, ID, and item limits — apply at the Yukon-Kuskokwim Correctional Center. The facility’s own arrangements:

Getting There and Parking

Yukon-Kuskokwim Correctional Center is at 1000 Chief Eddie Hoffman Highway in Bethel. Bethel is in the Bethel Census Area on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta and is not on Alaska’s road system. The community is reached mainly by plane — Bethel Airport has scheduled service from Anchorage — and by seasonal river and barge traffic; there is no highway connection to Anchorage or the rest of the state’s road network. Travel within and around Bethel is by local road, and there is no driving route into the community from outside the region.

Parking is on site. Visitors confirm current entry procedures, the visitor-processing location, and what may be brought onto the grounds with the facility before arriving, because electronic devices and personal items are generally not permitted inside. Given the air travel involved, visitors generally confirm the visiting schedule with the facility before booking flights.

Nearby Services

Bethel is the regional hub for the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta and has lodging, dining, fuel, and grocery options, though choices are limited and prices in this remote community are generally higher than in road-system towns. Emergency and hospital care is available locally at the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Regional Hospital, with larger hospitals in Anchorage. Visitors traveling from outside the region generally arrange lodging in Bethel in advance, because options are limited and travel in and out depends on flight schedules.

Mail

Alaska DOC does not use an off-site mail vendor. Incoming personal mail goes directly to the facility, where mail staff open and inspect it for contraband before delivery. Address personal mail with the person’s full name and prisoner number, the facility name, and the facility’s mailing address:

[Prisoner’s full name and number] Yukon-Kuskokwim Correctional Center 1000 Chief Eddie Hoffman Highway Bethel, AK 99559

Use a plain white envelope and white paper, and write only in blue or black ink or pencil. Mail without a complete return address that includes the sender’s name is destroyed. Greeting cards must be commercially produced, single-fold, on standard card stock, and no larger than 6 by 8 inches. Photographs must be printed on plain white or photographic paper and unaltered. Stickers, labels, glitter, tape, and anything attached with adhesive are not allowed (postal-service labels are an exception), and sexually explicit material is prohibited.

Legal and other privileged mail (for example, mail with an attorney) goes to the facility marked “Privileged” and is handled separately. Books, magazines, newspapers, and other publications must be ordered from an approved vendor and shipped directly to the facility — a family member can place the order, but the person must have funds to pay for it in advance. Packages are accepted only from approved vendors through the commissary; friends and family cannot send gift packages. Contact the facility for its current approved-vendor list.

Learn More

• Visiting an Alaska prison — Approved visitor lists, the per-facility scheduling and appointment norms, dress code, ID, and what to expect at remote facilities.
• Sending mail in Alaska — How to address personal mail to the facility, the white-envelope rules, and how to order books, publications, and packages from approved vendors.
• Phone calls and video in Alaska — Setting up a Securus AdvanceConnect account, how calls are billed, free monthly calls, and the rules on three-way and forwarded calls.
• Sending money in Alaska — How to put money on an Offender Trust Account in person or by mail, who is allowed to deposit, accepted forms, and the monthly limit.
• Medical care in Alaska prisons — How health, dental, and mental-health care work in DOC facilities, co-pay amounts, and how to request care.
• Intake, classification, and transfers in Alaska — The booking process, the four custody levels, and how people are housed in Alaska’s unified jail-and-prison system.