Search Mississippi County Work Release Center

Mississippi County Work Release Overview

Mississippi County Work Release Center is operated by the Arkansas Department of Corrections, Division of Correction. It is a minimum-security state facility for adult male inmates, not a sheriff's office booking intake center. The DOC FY20 annual report listed the unit as established in 1975, ACA accredited, minimum custody, male, and staffed by 39 employees. The 2021 ACA reaccreditation audit described a minimum Class 1A and 1B population and a facility that combines work release, regional maintenance, medical services, commissary, laundry, kitchen, chapel space, and support buildings.

The audit gives useful history. The facility began as the Blytheville Work Release Center with 30 beds and had previously been a peanut farm camp. It expanded in 1983 and later took over and renovated property after the adjacent county sheriff's department built a new county office in 1999. The audit says the center sits on 9.8 acres leased from Mississippi County, adjacent to the sheriff's office, local jail, and county landfill, about five miles outside Luxora in farm country. That location can confuse visitors because the county jail and state work-release center are close to each other, but they use different lookup systems.

Work Release Capacity and Population

The 2021 ACA audit listed Mississippi County Work Release Center with a rated capacity of 144, an actual population of 121, and an average daily population of 135 for the prior 12 months. The same audit listed an average length of stay of 24 months, male-only population, age range 21-60, and full-time staffing of 5 administrative support, 13 security, and 2 health care employees. The DOC FY20 annual report used a slightly different capacity figure of 133 and an FY20 ADP of 131, so cite the source year when comparing figures.

Look Up Work Release Inmates

Use the Arkansas DOC inmate search for Mississippi County Work Release Center. The county jail roster is not the right system for an inmate assigned to state work release unless the person is temporarily housed in county jail custody. DOC search fields include ADC Number, county, name, facility, gender, offense category, age, race, and a required disclaimer checkbox. Facility filters relevant to Mississippi County can include Miss.Co.W/R, Miss.Co.309/Work, Miss Co Reg Maint, Mississippi Cty 309-In Jail, and Mississippi Cy Waiting List.

The manifest includes a screenshot from the Arkansas DOC inmate search source. The DOC search page is the correct starting point for work-release custody because it is the statewide population locator.

The facility dropdown can be more useful than the county field when the searcher already knows the person is in a Mississippi County work-release or regional-maintenance assignment.

1. Open the Arkansas DOC inmate search and accept the required disclaimer.
2. Search by ADC Number when known, because it is more precise than a name search.
3. Use last name, first name, county, and facility filters if the ADC number is not known.
4. Check that the displayed facility assignment matches Mississippi County Work Release Center or a related Mississippi County DOC option.

Work Release Address and Contact

Call the state facility for facility-specific status, visitation, work-release questions, or resident services. Do not call the county jail roster line expecting it to update a DOC work-release assignment. The two facilities are near each other in Luxora, but the work-release center is run by Arkansas DOC and the detention center is run by the sheriff.

Work Release Visitation Rules

The 2021 audit says services include visitation in person or through a Securus virtual visit kiosk. Arkansas DOC online services provide the broader state rules. Visitors must be on the approved phone and visitor record, and video visits must be scheduled at least 48 hours before the visit starts. DOC video visits are 30 minutes, are monitored, and can be terminated for rule violations. Recording or photographing a video visit is prohibited and can suspend visiting privileges.

Note: State facilities can change visit operations by unit status, so call the center before travel or scheduling.

Work Release Mail and Money

DOC communications rules differ from county jail mail rules. The DOC online-services page lists inmate deposit services, prepaid phone service, Securus services, eMessaging, packages, tablets, and video visitation. DOC no longer accepts paper money orders after May 31, 2025, according to research from DOC materials. For phone approval, the contact must be on the inmate's approved telephone list, and the required form must come from the inmate rather than staff.

The manifest includes a DOC online-services screenshot. The DOC online services source is the best match for deposits, phone rules, video visits, messaging, and package options at state facilities.

Use DOC services for state custody accounts. County SmartJailMail and TigerDeposits instructions belong to the Mississippi County Detention Center, not the state work-release center.

Work Release Admission Process

Mississippi County Work Release Center is not a street-arrest booking facility. A person reaches this center through state correctional placement, work-release assignment, regional maintenance assignment, or related DOC classification. Classification is the state process that sets custody level, housing, work eligibility, programs, and restrictions. The audit describes Class 1A and 1B minimum custody, male-only housing, and a work-release population housed separately from regional maintenance inmates.

Work-release inmates may leave the secured setting for approved employment or community work under program rules. The audit reported 101 inmates working through numerous community employers at the time of audit, with facility transportation because the location is rural. That does not mean every inmate has the same movement. Employment, conduct, custody class, and unit rules control whether a person remains eligible for work release.

About Mississippi County Work Release

The 2021 audit describes nine single-story cinder-block buildings, including administration, Regional Maintenance, separate work-release housing, a chapel/multipurpose building, maintenance and storage buildings, and an armory. Regional Maintenance includes living quarters, medical services, commissary, laundry, kitchen, dining hall, property room, two temporary holding cells, and staff offices. Programs and services listed across DOC materials include work release, regional maintenance, substance-abuse education, GED programming, Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, recreation, religious programs, library, mail, telephone access, and community service.

The distinction from the county jail is the core user issue. The sheriff roster handles local jail detainees and 48-hour releases. The Arkansas DOC locator handles state inmates, work-release assignments, 309/work contexts, and state facility placement. A person may move from the county jail into DOC custody after sentencing or commitment paperwork, and the sheriff administration page notes staff prepare Arkansas DOC and Division of Community Correction commitment packets. Once that transfer occurs, the state locator usually becomes the better record source.