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Central California Women's Facility
Central California Women's Facility (CCWF): contact, visiting, phone, mail and travel details. Confirm custody and current rules.
Facility record · California
CCWF · Chowchilla · Madera County
- SecurityMaximum
- Population2,178
- Occupancy110%
Jail411 holds no custody records. A listing here does not mean anyone is held at this address.
Central California Women's Facility (CCWF) is a state prison in Chowchilla, Madera County, California. By capacity it is the 22nd-largest of the 30 state prison records listed for California with a published capacity. It is one of 5 correctional facilities in Madera County, and California operates 30 state prisons in total.
Contact & details
CDCR Infrastructure Master Plan, Appendix 1 (May 2026), period ending 30 April 2026
Finding someone first
Nothing below works without two things: confirmation that the person is at Central California Women's Facility, and their CDCR number. Book a visit without them and you will be turned away; post a letter without the number and the mailroom cannot route it.
CDCR's public search covers people in CDCR custody. A disclaimer must be accepted before searching, and CDCR states the tool is informational rather than an official record. County jail populations are held separately.
CIRIS — California Incarcerated Records and Information Search ↗
Visiting Central California Women's Facility
This is what the institution publishes, in the order you will meet it: when visits run, how to get approved, how to book, when to arrive, and what you may carry in.
When visits run
Visiting open · 2 July 2026Get approved
You must be approved before booking. The incarcerated person first sends you a signed CDCR Form 106 Visiting Questionnaire. Complete that exact copy, then mail it directly to CCWF’s Visiting office.
Send it to: Mail the completed questionnaire to Central California Women’s Facility, Attention: Visiting, P.O. Box 1501, Chowchilla, CA 93610-1501. This is CCWF’s official institution/staff mailbox.
What not to do: Do not mail the completed questionnaire back to the incarcerated person. Send it directly to CCWF’s Visiting office at the institution/staff address above.
Do not use P.O. Box 1508. CDCR identifies that mailbox for mail to incarcerated people, not the Visiting office.Book through the scheduling application
Use VSA for ordinary in-person visits. CCWF publishes a separate request window for each visiting day.
Open the Visitation Scheduling Application ↗
Walking in: Walk-ins are accepted first come and space available. Call CCWF before relying on one.
Non-contact and restricted-housing visitsNon-contact visiting is not a choice — it is what applies while someone is in reception (newly admitted to CDCR, or just transferred between prisons) or is segregated.
Arrive, and report to visitor processing
Visitors may enter institution grounds 30 minutes before processing (Friday noon; Saturday/Sunday 9 a.m.). Check QuickMap and the live status page for road or cancellation updates.
Parking: CDCR states that all prisons have separate visitor parking; accessible spaces are marked. The walk to processing may be long and some institutions use a prison van or bus.
Where to report: Use the Visitor Processing Building at 23370 Road 22. CCWF says visitors may arrive on institutional grounds 30 minutes before processing: Friday at noon, Saturday at 9:00 a.m. and Sunday at 9:00 a.m.
Bring the right things, and only those
Allowed in
- Visitors are strictly limited to CDCR's published allowed-item list: limited cash, a small clear bag, two keys, ID, a nonmetallic comb/brush, tissues, prescription glasses, limited photographs/documents, specified baby items, approved medical/religious items, and service animals. Other unauthorized property should not be brought into the visiting area.
Identification: Adults must present valid, current photo identification. Accepted forms listed by CDCR include a state driver's license or DMV ID, armed-forces photo ID, ICE ID, U.S. or foreign passport, or Mexican Consulate photo ID.
How many may visit: General-population in-person visits allow up to five visitors and generally last through normal visiting hours; non-contact visits are limited to three visitors and usually one to two hours.
Bringing a child: A visitor under 18 must be accompanied by an approved adult. CDCR requires a certified birth certificate; legal guardians also need proof of guardianship, and another accompanying adult needs the birth certificate plus an original notarized consent authorization renewed yearly.
Video visits and cost: Weekend video visiting at adult institutions ended July 7, 2023. Incarcerated people with tablets remain eligible for 15 minutes of free video calls every two weeks.
Phone calls, money and mail
Phone calls
You cannot call in. CDCR states that it is up to the incarcerated person to initiate the call, and that calls are limited to 15 minutes. That single fact explains most of what families find confusing: the switchboard will not connect you, there is no voicemail, and a call arriving from an unfamiliar number is normal. What you can do from the outside is make sure the call can reach you — that your number is not blocked by your carrier, that it is not a VoIP or virtual number the system will refuse, and that whatever account arrangement the facility uses is set up and funded before he tries. For anything urgent, a message goes through the institution rather than the phone system.
Putting money on the books
Before anything else you need the person's CDCR number, from California Incarcerated Records and Information Search (CIRIS), and their current location from CDCR's facility locator. CDCR then lists three routes. Electronic funds transfer through one of its vendors: GTL/ConnectNetwork, JPay, or Access Corrections. A lock box deposit, which CDCR states carries no fee when sent by money order, personal check or cashier's check: complete the Money Order Deposit Form with the sender's name and address, make the payment payable to JPay, and mail it to JPay, 2202 South Figueroa St, Box #3001, Los Angeles, CA 90007. CDCR caps this at $999.99 per money order, holds personal checks for ten business days, and warns that any letter or note enclosed with a payment will be discarded. Or send a check or money order to the institution itself. Vendor fees vary by amount and method, so check the vendor's own figure before you send.
Writing to someone here
Anyone may write to a person in a California state prison. Incoming letters are opened and inspected for contraband, then forwarded. CDCR asks that the envelope carry the person's full committed name and CDC number, the institution name, the P.O. box and housing assignment where known (CDCR states housing is preferable), and the city, CA and ZIP. The housing assignment is the part most people do not have: get it, and the CDCR number, from California Incarcerated Records and Information Search (CIRIS), from the institution's Public Information Officer, or from CDCR's Identification Unit. Note that the address mail goes to is not always the institution's street address, so confirm it before posting anything you cannot replace.
Full committed name · CDCR number · housing
Central California Women's Facility (CCWF)
Inmates: P.O. Box 1508, Chowchilla, CA 93610
Getting there, and staying
These Chowchilla properties are planning options, not endorsements. Confirm the exact room, accessibility features, parking, deposit, cancellation deadline and morning route to Road 22. Madera County Connection runs weekday fixed-route service between Madera, Fairmead and stops in the city of Chowchilla. Its published schedule does not list the prison on Road 22.
Where to stay
Somewhere to eat
| Place | What and when | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| McDonald’s250 E. Robertson Boulevard, Chowchilla, CA 93610 | Official page lists early lobby and drive-through service, Wi-Fi and mobile ordering | (559) 665-7305 |
| Denny’s22717 Avenue 18 1/2, Madera, CA 93637 | Official location page lists 24-hour service, all-day breakfast and takeout | (559) 330-1976 |
Local planning notes
Road check: CCWF is on rural Road 22 outside central Chowchilla. Check Caltrans QuickMap and the live CCWF visiting page before departure; appointment holders receive VSA notices if the institution cancels, while walk-in visitors should call first.
Inside the institution
The 2026 CDCR PREA audit describes 18 housing units distributed across four yards. Housing includes multi-person wet cells and two-tier, two-person wet-cell units; CCWF also provides medical, mental-health, education, work and specialised programs.
Restricted housing
CCWF uses segregated or non-disciplinary housing under CDCR rules when required. Its 2026 PREA audit says involuntary segregation for a person at high risk of victimisation is limited to cases where no less-restrictive separation is available.
All non-contact visits are limited to one hour. Confirm current housing and visit type with Visiting before using the ordinary VSA workflow or travelling for a walk-in.
Health care, programs and release preparation
These services differ by institution. The details below describe what this prison reports, not a systemwide promise that every person qualifies for every program.
Health care
CCWF states that specialized mental-health and medical services are provided in a licensed medical environment and are commensurate with community standards; ISUDT includes medical assessment and referral.
Education, training and work
Academic offerings include Adult Basic Education, High School/GED, Pre-Release, literacy, and a Feather River Community College degree program; vocational programs include auto body, computer technology, cosmetology, electronics, and office services.
Preparing for release
CCWF lists Pre-Release and job-placement programming; its on-site family-liaison case manager assists with pre-release preparation, and the institution describes its programs as supporting successful reintegration.
Reported figures
These are the institution’s own returns to the state, and every group is dated. They have to be: the figures come from separate documents on separate cadences, and reading the whole set as one snapshot would be wrong.
Capacity and population
as at 30 April 2026How the population is housed
as at 30 June 2024Staffing
as at 30 June 2024Education and training
as at 30 June 2024CDCR Infrastructure Master Plan, Appendix 1 (May 2026) (Public record) · California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, SB601 Reporting (CC BY 4.0)
Guides that go wider than this institution
These cover the same ground across every facility in the directory, which is what you want if the person may be moved, or if you are helping someone in a different state.
Other facilities in Madera County
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What should I confirm before visiting?
The person's current facility, the visiting schedule, approval requirements, accepted identification and arrival instructions. Check the facility page and its official sources before you travel.
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Send us the page and the detail that needs attention. Include the official source when you have one. Do not send private booking documents or other sensitive personal information.
Plan the next step.
Practical guides for calls, visits, mail, money and release.