Halbert Unit

Women's substance-abuse treatment facility (SAFPF) in Burnet County, Texas Hill Country, with weekend visitation under TDCJ's statewide system.

Overview

The Halbert Unit is a women’s Substance Abuse Felony Punishment Facility (SAFPF) operated by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. TDCJ lists it at about 612 beds. It opened in March 1995 and sits in Burnet County, in the Texas Hill Country northwest of Austin.

Two facts shape almost everything about visiting here: it is a women’s facility, and it is a treatment unit rather than a standard general-population prison.

What Makes the Halbert Unit Different

• A women’s facility — one of a relatively small number of TDCJ units that hold women
• A Substance Abuse Felony Punishment Facility (SAFPF), where the population is enrolled in structured substance-use treatment rather than serving in general population
• Runs program tracks including in-prison substance-use treatment and a Female Cognitive Pre-Release Program (FCPRP), so a person’s stay is tied to treatment phases and can be shorter than at a long-term prison
• Medical care is provided through UTMB (the University of Texas Medical Branch)

Visiting Hours and Procedures

The statewide rules above — approval, ID, prohibited items, and dress code — apply at Halbert. What follows is specific to this unit.

Because Halbert is a treatment facility, the visiting format can follow the incarcerated person’s treatment phase rather than a single unit-wide rule. Confirm the format and any program-tied restrictions with the unit before traveling, since a treatment unit can handle visits differently from a general-population prison on the same posted weekend.

The unit’s treatment mission also affects how long someone stays here. Program tracks such as in-prison substance-use treatment and the Female Cognitive Pre-Release Program move people through phases, so a person’s assignment can change. The TDCJ inmate locator shows the unit a person is currently assigned to.

Getting There and Parking

Halbert is in Burnet, in Burnet County, in the Texas Hill Country northwest of Austin. A private vehicle is required; there is no fixed-route public transit to the unit.

Burnet is a small Hill Country city, and services thin out on the approach to the unit. Plan fuel, food, and any other stops before the final stretch, and allow extra time for the rural drive.

Phones, Mail, and Video

Contact has a sequence to it. A phone number must be on the incarcerated person’s approved contact list before calls can connect, and after intake or a transfer that approval can take time to process. Calls are placed by the incarcerated person on TDCJ’s Securus phone system; a prison cannot be called into. Account setup, rates, and video options are covered in Phone & Video Calls.

Learn More

For detailed information about visiting and communicating with someone at a Texas state prison:

• Visiting in Texas — TDCJ approval process, dress code, scheduling
• Mail & Packages — what you can send and what gets rejected
• Phone & Video Calls — Securus accounts, call costs, video visits
• Sending Money — how to add funds to a TDCJ trust account
• Medical & Mental Health — healthcare in TDCJ facilities
• Transfers — what happens during transfers