Men (minimum to maximum custody) · State Prison · DPS&C

Allen Correctional Center

Kinder, Allen County, Louisiana

Visiting schedules change without notice. Always call before traveling.

Call Visiting Office: (337) 639-2943 Info last verified: June 2026

A men's state prison near Kinder in Allen Parish, southwest Louisiana — a reception and reentry facility holding mixed custody. It was privately operated for its first decades before coming under state operation.

Statewide rules that apply at every Louisiana state prison

These rules are set by DPS&C and apply at every unit. The full list — including all permitted and prohibited items and the approval process — is in Visiting in Louisiana.

Dress code

No denim or chambray, no gray, blue, or white sweatshirts, and no white t-shirts (these resemble inmate clothing); no camouflage or BDU-style clothing that resembles officer dress.
Undergarments required and not visible. Nothing transparent; no swimsuits, strapless, tube, halter, or tank tops, low-cut or midriff-baring tops, or spandex, Lycra, or leggings.
Skirts, shorts, and dresses no shorter than one inch above the knee, with no revealing slits or holes.
No house slippers, shower shoes, or flip-flops — footwear stays on. No hats or head coverings except for religious reasons; nothing gang-related or obscene.

ID: Bring a valid photo ID for every visitor 15 and older — a driver's license, state ID, military ID, or passport. (A statewide notice says 18 and older, but facility pages say 15, so bring ID for anyone 15 or older.)
What to bring: Leave wallets, purses, phones, and cash in your locked vehicle. Each prison allows limited items into the visit — at Angola, up to $300 cash per family and specified baby items; some prisons allow vending change and one debit card for the JPay kiosk.
Scheduling: The incarcerated person starts the application — the visitor mails or emails it to the facility (faxes are not accepted), and approval follows a background check. Each person keeps up to 10 approved visitors, changeable every four months; the approved-visitor list is usually not in place during the first 30 days of intake (though immediate family may be able to visit sooner); and two visits a month is the statewide norm.

Full statewide rules: Visiting in Louisiana

Overview

Allen Correctional Center, near Kinder in Allen Parish, opened in 1990 and was operated under private contract (by Wackenhut, later the GEO Group) for about 27 years before coming under state operation in 2017. It is now one of the eight DPS&C state-operated adult prisons, holding men across a mix of custody levels — from minimum-custody trusties through maximum custody. DPS&C does not publish a current population for the facility.

Allen is organized around reception and reentry: it serves as a reception and assignment point for people entering the system from several high-population parishes, and houses a regional reentry program. Its services include on-site medical, psychiatric, and psychological care, and a broad program slate — high-school-equivalency and adult education, vocational trades (culinary arts, cabinet making, computer office practices, upholstery, and horticulture), college coursework through Upper Iowa University, substance-abuse and faith-based programs, and a 100-hour pre-release program required by state law.

What Makes Allen Different

It is a reception and reentry facility, so some men are here for intake and assignment or for pre-release programming rather than long-term housing.
Its operation passed from a private company to the state in 2017, so older sources may still describe it as a private prison.
Visiting is restricted on fifth weekends for medium- and maximum-custody people.
It is in southwest Louisiana, about 40 minutes from Lake Charles.

Visiting

The statewide DPS&C rules above — the approved-list application, the dress code, ID, and search rules — apply at Allen.

In the visiting area, a visitor buys a “Zip Key” from a vending machine to use the visiting-room vending machines. The full approval process is in Visiting in Louisiana.

Getting There and Parking

Allen is on Lauderdale Woodyard Road off U.S. Highway 165, near Kinder.

Distances are approximate, based on map routing. DPS&C publishes no specific visitor parking details for the facility.

Nearby Services

Kinder, a few miles south, has the nearest food and gas, and the casinos near Kinder add some lodging. Allen Parish Community Healthcare at 108 Sixth Avenue in Kinder runs a 24/7 emergency room in the same town as the prison; Lake Charles, about 40 miles southwest, has the nearest larger hospitals.

A Note on History

Allen Correctional Center was built by the state and opened in 1990, then run for about 27 years by a private operator under contract. After the operator ended its contract, DPS&C assumed direct operation on September 1, 2017, and re-tasked the facility toward reception and reentry. This is documented in the sources cited above.

Learn More

For detailed information about visiting and communicating with someone in a Louisiana state prison:

Visiting in Louisiana — the application, dress code, and search rules
Mail & Packages — letters only, addressed with the DOC number
Phone & Video Calls — the Securus and JPay systems
Sending Money — depositing to a spending account
Medical & Mental Health — healthcare and raising a concern
Transfers — intake, parish jails, and finding someone

Sources

This page is compiled from the following publicly available sources. Policies change without notice — confirm current details with the facility before relying on them.