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Barbara A. Ester Unit is a correctional facility of the Arkansas Department of Correction (ADC), located in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. It is scheduled to have a capacity of 580 prisoners, and it is the first prison in the ADC dedicated to the re-entry of prisoners into society. In addition to prisoners who are to be released within six months, it also houses prisoners who were incarcerated due to disobeying the rules of their parole. The prison's namesake is Barbara Ester, a prison guard holding the rank corporal at the East Arkansas Unit. She died on January 20, 2012, at the hands of a prisoner.

History

It was previously known as the Diagnostic Unit. In 2015, the Ester Unit began to receive prisoners. The prison's dedication as the Ester Unit occurred in August 2016; at that time, its capacity was temporarily 380 prisoners.

In December 2016, the ADC announced that it would move about 175 prisoners from the Pulaski County Jail's Wrightsville Annex to the Ester Unit; the Wrightsville Annex held prisoners soon to be released and parole violators, and the ADC stated it did not have the necessary funds to operate both Ester and the Wrightsville annex. The Ester Unit's construction was scheduled to finish in late March 2017.

Programs

The prison has a dedicated barracks for military veterans who have prison sentences. There is a General Education Development (GED) program and the "Preparing for Success" program, a re-entry program which uses the National Institute of Corrections Thinking for a Change (T4C) curriculum. There is also a Workforce Alliance for Growth in the Economy (WAGE) Program and a Vocational Training Program, which provide workplace training to inmates. The Advanced Principles and Applications for Life (APAL) Program grew to include the Barbara Ester Unit in 2017, and provides religious services.

References

1. ^ "Family, prison officials dedicate new Ester Reentry Unit". The Pine Bluff Commercial. 2016-08-24. Archived from the original on 2017-08-01. Retrieved 2017-08-01.
2. ^ King, Ray (2016-12-01). "Prison Barbara Ester Unit to add additional beds, prisoners". The Pine Bluff Commercial. Archived from the original on 2017-08-01. Retrieved 2017-08-01.
3. "ADC Inmate Programs Page 4". Arkansas Department of Corrections. Retrieved 2023-08-19.
4. "ADC Inmate Programs Page 2". Arkansas Department of Corrections. Retrieved 2023-08-19.
5. "Barbara Ester Unit". Arkansas Department of Corrections. Retrieved 2023-08-19.

External links

• Barbara Ester Unit

v t e Arkansas Department of Corrections prisons
State prisons	Benton Unit Boot Camp Program♂♀ Cummins Unit Delta Regional Unit East Arkansas Regional Unit Barbara Ester Unit Grimes Unit Hawkins Center for Women♀ Maximum Security Unit McPherson Unit♀ North Central Unit Ouachita River Unit Pine Bluff Unit Texarkana Regional Correction Center Tucker Unit Varner Unit Randall L. Williams Correctional Facility Wrightsville Unit
Work release centers	Mississippi County Work Release Center Northwest Arkansas Work Release Center
Above facilities are male-only unless noted by ♀ (female only) or ♂♀ (both sexes)

34°13′19″N 92°04′59″W / 34.222°N 92.083°W / 34.222; -92.083

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