General Provisions

Wyo. Stat. Ann. tit. 25, ch. 1
in effect

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 25-1-104 Creation of department of corrections; duties; inspections of state institutions; regulation of prisoner produced goods.

(a) The department of corrections is created. The department consists of the director who is the chief administrative officer and such divisions as the director may create. (b) The department of corrections has general supervision, control and custody of all penal institutions, and responsibility for the maintenance and repair of all buildings and grounds utilized by the institutions. Specifically the department has general supervision and control of, and shall provide for the care and maintenance of all inmates in the following state institutions: (i) Wyoming state penitentiary; (ii) Wyoming honor farms and camps; (iii) Wyoming women's center; (iv) Wyoming medium correctional institution; (v) Adult community correctional facilities defined by W.S. 7-18-102(a)(i). (c) The department of corrections has general supervisory authority over state parolees and, subject to the order of the sentencing court, over probationers for whom the sentencing court requests supervision under W.S. 7-13-410(b). (d) The director shall: (i) Personally inspect all state institutions under the department's supervision and control at least once every year; (ii) Direct the general management of all state penal institutions enumerated in W.S. 25-1-104(b) and be responsible for the proper disbursement of all funds appropriated for their maintenance; (iii) Direct the general management of the state probation and parole program; and (iv) Appoint, prescribe the duties of, and remove at will the following officers: (A) Wardens of the Wyoming state penitentiary, medium correctional institution, women's center and Wyoming honor farms and camps; (B) Repealed by Laws 2005, ch. 93, § 2. (C) Repealed By Laws 2005, ch. 93, § 2. (D) The state probation and parole officer. (e) The officers provided for under W.S. 25-1-104(d)(iv)(A) and (D) shall: (i) Serve as administrator of and manage the institutions to which they are appointed subject to the supervision of the director; (ii) Employ personnel necessary and approved by the director and the Wyoming legislature; (iii) Report to the director as required. (f) The director may appoint and may remove at will a deputy director and division administrators. (g) The department shall establish rules and regulations regarding the provision of services and the production of goods by prisoners at all state corrections institutions including but not limited to labor requirements, wage rates, use of goods within the institution of origin, sales price and method of distribution to other institutions or the general public. In promulgating rules relating to correctional industries programs authorized by W.S. 25-13-101 through 25-13-107, the department shall adhere to the requirements of the private sector prison industry enhancement certification program of the federal bureau of justice assistance. Rules and regulations promulgated under this subsection shall place limitations on competition with the private sector and will ensure that no contract entered into under W.S. 25-13-101 through 25-13-107 will result in the displacement of employed workers in the state in excess of limitations established by the correctional industries advisory board created by W.S. 25-13-102. (h) The department of corrections has general supervision and control of, and shall provide for the care and maintenance of all inmates who have been placed in institutions of other jurisdictions or private entities pursuant to contracts or agreements under W.S. 25-1-105(e). (j) The director may order returned to the custody of the department any person under the department's jurisdiction. The written order of the director shall be sufficient warrant for any peace officer to return to actual custody any escaped state prisoner or any state prisoner released prior to his scheduled release date or who is about to be released by another jurisdiction prior to his scheduled release date in Wyoming. It is the duty of all peace officers to execute the order of the director issued under this subsection in like manner as ordinary criminal process. A person taken into custody under the order of the director is not subject to release on bail. Consistent with W.S. 7-3-201 through 7-3-227, the director may apply to the governor to seek the extradition of an inmate apprehended in another state pursuant to an order of the director issued under this subsection. (k) The department of corrections shall issue certificates of restoration of rights pursuant to W.S. 7-13-105(b), (c), (f) and (j).

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 25-1-105 Powers of department; care of persons committed outside of state.

(a) The department of corrections shall adopt rules and regulations necessary to carry out its functions. The promulgation of substantive rules by the department, the conduct of its hearings and its final decisions are specifically exempt from all provisions of the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act including the provisions for judicial review under W.S. 16-3-114 and 16-3-115. The department's rules shall be filed in the office of the secretary of state. (b) The department may enter into contracts with the federal government or other states for the care of persons committed outside of Wyoming. (c) Subject to subsection (d) of this section, the department may, to obtain demonstrable cost savings or better quality of services, contract with private service providers or with other agencies for any of the following services to be provided for inmates of any state adult penal institution: (i) Education, training and jobs programs; (ii) Recreational and religious activities; (iii) Development and implementation assistance for classification, management information systems or other information systems or services; (iv) Medical services; (v) Food services, commissary, transportation, sanitation or other ancillary services; and (vi) Counseling, special treatment programs or other programs for special needs. (d) The department shall by rule and regulation impose upon services contracted pursuant to paragraph (c)(i) of this section limitations on competition with the private sector and ensure contracted services do not significantly displace employed workers within the community. (e) The department of corrections may enter into contracts and agreements with any county for the confinement and maintenance in county jails of persons sentenced to the custody of the department of corrections to serve a term of imprisonment in a state penal institution. The department may enter into contracts and agreements with other states, including those which are not party to the Western Interstate Corrections Compact, with the federal government, with other governmental entities and with private owners and operators of correctional facilities in other states, for the confinement and maintenance of persons sentenced to the custody of the department to serve a term of imprisonment in a state penal institution. The department shall establish rules and regulations regarding the minimum standards for such facilities and standards for the care and treatment of department of correction's inmates incarcerated therein. (f) Pursuant to this section and W.S. 9-2-130, the department of corrections shall collaborate with the department of health to reduce recidivism rates for persons with behavioral health needs and substance use disorders who are involved in the criminal justice system and improve mental health and substance use disorder programming by: (i) Improving the quality and accuracy of substance use assessments administered to persons with criminal justice involvement by creating a quality improvement unit in the department of corrections that will regularly monitor the administration and use of assessment tools. The department of corrections shall report to the joint labor, health and social services interim committee on the status of the unit, including progress on the creation of the unit, results of unit efforts, unit expenditures and remaining funds from appropriations made for the unit. The department of corrections shall provide this report to the joint labor, health and social services interim committee by September 1 of each year through 2023; (ii) Creating a behavioral health services enhancement program for community providers to improve outcomes for persons involved in the criminal justice system through a separate contract, or in a separate provision in an existing contract, administered by the department of health; (iii) Adopting standardized, evidence based treatment practices and guidelines for treating and providing programming to persons involved in the criminal justice system with behavioral health and substance use needs; (iv) Increasing communication between the department of health, the department of corrections and contracted behavioral health providers working with persons involved in the criminal justice system; (v) Promoting and requiring to the maximum extent practical and permissible under applicable laws and regulations the portability and universal recognition of mental health and substance use disorder assessment tools and other assessment tools that may be applicable to mental health and substance use disorder treatment; and (vi) Creating a competitive and outcomes based funding stream for behavioral health providers to: (A) Expand existing services for criminal justice involved populations; (B) Improve the quality and availability of services and programs; (C) Train and develop the skills of providers and stakeholders working with persons who have behavior health needs and substance use disorders and who are involved in the criminal justice system. (g) This section shall not be interpreted to require the creation or maintenance of any duplicate functions, services or programs in the department of corrections and the department of health, but shall be interpreted with W.S. 9-2-130 to require coordination and collaboration between the agencies to assure the creation and maintenance of independent or coordinated functions, services and programs to meet the goals of this section and W.S. 9-2-130. (h) The department of corrections shall promulgate rules specifying reasonable actions a person in charge of a penal institution or correctional facility may take to stop or prevent a violation of W.S. 6-5-214(b).

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 25-1-201 Establishment of state institutions.

(a) The following state institutions are established: (i) The Wyoming state penitentiary at Rawlins, Wyoming; (ii) The Wyoming boys' school at Worland, Wyoming; (iii) The Wyoming girls' school at Sheridan, Wyoming; (iv) The Wyoming life resource center at Lander, Wyoming; (v) Repealed By Laws 1998, ch. 7, § 2. (vi) The Wyoming pioneer home at Thermopolis, Wyoming; (vii) The veterans' home of Wyoming at Buffalo, Wyoming; (viii) The Wyoming retirement center at Basin, Wyoming; (ix) The Wyoming women's center at Lusk, Wyoming; (x) The Wyoming state hospital at Evanston, Wyoming; (xi) The Wyoming medium correctional institution at Torrington, Wyoming; (xii) The Wyoming school for the deaf at Casper, Wyoming; (xiii) The Wyoming honor farm at Riverton, Wyoming; (xiv) The Wyoming honor conservation camp at Newcastle, Wyoming; (xv) The Wyoming veterans' skilled nursing facility at Buffalo, Wyoming. (b) Repealed by Laws 1992, ch. 25, § 4. (c) Repealed by Laws 1992, ch. 25, § 4. (d) Repealed by Laws 1987, ch. 185, § 2.
Source: WY Statutes (Official Site)URL: https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title25.pdfFetched: 10/4/2026