ODRC – Lorain Correctional Institution (LORCI)

ODRC – Lorain Correctional Institution (LORCI) basic information to help guide you through what you can do for your inmate while they are incarcerated. The facility's direct contact number: 440-748-1049

This facility is for adult inmates.

The inmates housed at Lorain Correctional located at 2075 S Avon-Belden Rd in Grafton, OH are placed according to their custody level (determined by a number of factors including the past criminal history and the length of their sentence). There are ample educational and vocational training programs for all inmates, especially ones that show a willingness to learn new things that will prepare them for a better life when they are released. The mission is to promote and prepare the offender to leave in better shape than when they arrived, giving them the best chance to never come back and thus lower the state's recidivism rate.

Lorain Correctional is a state prison run by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction as a reception & distribution center for the northern half of the state. It stands adjacent and to the north of Ohio's Grafton Correctional Institution. It is a reception center for male inmates located in the Northern part of the state. Because it is a reception center it houses inmates of all security levels from minimum to closed custody.

Lorain Correctional Institution processes inmates within 30 days but due to continual overcrowding, many inmates end up here for longer periods of time while they await classification. Lorain Correctional Facility houses most offenders for a short term while they are classified and moved to the appropriate facility, because of these programs offered here are limited. Offenders at this facility can receive adult basic education classes and earn a GED during their incarceration.

Unique Programs

Bee Keeping – Lorain Correctional Institution’s newest program and inmate group are our Bee Keeping Program. In an effort to increase cadre programming with a focus on green initiatives, Lorain adopted a well-received Beekeeping Program in November of 2012. 100,000 bees were installed into hives in April 2013 and by the end of the year, that number grew to over 1 million bees. Classes are held once a week for two hours and cover honeybee biology, equipment and hive maintenance, pollination, and queen rearing, as well as entertaining guest speakers from the surrounding beekeeping community. All of the hives were designed and constructed by the inmates in the program. The pollination benefits of having bees at this facility will positively affect the surrounding community within a five-mile radius. A small harvest was experienced (as expected during the first year), however during the coming years we plan to donate honey to the surrounding food banks and local shelters. An added benefit to this program is the writing and editorial skills inmates gain by creating a monthly newsletter. Beekeeping skills are skills that are marketable in the community.

Reading Room – The reading rooms encourage family literacy by providing a pleasant and comfortable setting for both child and incarcerated parent. Each room is stocked with a wide variety of children’s books and has an inmate narrator who reads to the visiting children twice a day. The role of the inmate narrator is to read picture books to the children in much the same manner that children’s hour would be done at a public library. A variety of arts and craft supplies for the children are also available in most of the rooms. Many of the supplies and books are donated by employees and service organizations.

Offender Programs

Community Services

• LorCI/Medina County SPCA Dog Foster Program
• Fox 8 Stuff the Bus
• "Lives Matter" Campaign – Cleveland Heights Public Library
• Freedom and Hope Through Art – St. John's Episcopal Church

Academic

• Adult Basic Education (ABLE)
• Pre-GED
• GED
• High School Options

Apprenticeship Programs

• Animal Trainer
• Baker
• Carpenter, Maintenance
• Cook (any industry)
• Health Care Sanitary Technician
• Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC)
• Janitor
• Maintenance Repairer, Building
• Material Handler
• Plumber
• Recovery Operator

Education Services

• Computer-Aided Instructional Laboratories (CAIL)
• Correctional Education Association (CEA) Tutor Training
• Ohio Reentry Connections
• Special Education Services
• Library Services

visitation Info

ODRC – Lorain Correctional Institution – Visitation

Visiting is limited to a maximum of 4 visitors per inmate at one time, including walking children, unless special arrangements have been made in advance.  All inmates housed in the Restrictive Housing Unit are permitted visitation Tuesday through Friday only.  Inmates housed in restrictive housing will receive a one (1) hour visit per month. 

Visitors may purchase a vending card with a $5 bill to buy food items during the visit as no money is permitted in the visitation room.  Visitors may also purchase tokens from the token machine for pictures during visit.  The cost is $5 for two pictures with a maximum of five pictures and one frame.

Hours

•  8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. (Morning Session)
  12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. (Afternoon Session)

• Visitation hours are the same for all inmates, regardless of assigned visiting day.  To determine assigned visiting day, please see the appropriate section below.

• Visitors must be processed in no later than 9:30 a.m. for morning visiting sessions and 1:00 p.m. for afternoon visiting sessions.

• We recommend visitors arrive 30 minutes prior to the start of the visiting session to complete registration paperwork and review documentation.

• Visiting is closed for all inmates on Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

• Visiting hours are subject to change without notice. Please call the institution to verify visiting hours before planning a visit.

  Reception Status Inmates (newly received from the county)

• Tuesday – Friday (no reservation required)

• Reception inmates with numbers ending in an even number (0, 2,4,6,8,) may have visitation on even number dates.

• Reception inmates with numbers ending in odd numbers (1,3,5,7,9) may have visitation on odd number dates.

• Reception inmates may receive 4 visits per month, no more than 2 per visitor. Each session counts as a separate visit.

• Visitors of reception inmates are permitted to download and bring the completed visitor application with them on their first visit.  You may obtain the visitor application from our visiting page. 

• ALL VISITORS must prove relationship to the inmate.

  Cadre and Mentor Inmates only:

• CADRE/MENTOR VISITORS ONLY are required to make a reservation prior to visiting.

• Visits are permitted on Saturdays, Sundays, and all holidays except Christmas Day and New Year's Day. There will be no visits scheduled on Mondays regardless of a holiday.

• All visitors must be approved by Unit Staff prior to visiting.

• Cadre/Mentor inmates may receive 6 visits each month  Each session counts as a separate visit.

• Reservations are required at least 24 hours prior to the visit and up to 14 days in advance.

• Approved visitors should make a reservation by calling 440-748-1049 and pressing "0" Monday through Friday between the hours of 5pm and 9pm.

• Any cancellations must be made 24 hours in advance, or the visit will be counted as a visit for the month.

• Visitors may only make a reservation for one session and one offender during a call.

• Each visitor will receive a confirmation number which he or she will be required to bring the day of the visit.

What inmates and families need to know:

• Reception Facts
• Visitor Handout
• LorCI FAQ Handout
• Visitor Dress Code

• Video Visitation

  Not available to reception inmates.

  Lorain Correctional Institution maintains video visiting kiosks in its general population housing unit. The hours of availability for video visits are as follows: 6:00 AM – 11:00AM; 12:00PM – 4:00PM; and 5:00PM – 9:00PM. Visits are 30 minutes in duration. 

  An approved visitor is defined as: A visitor that has submitted an application for visitation and has been approved by institutional staff may request a video visit. Approved visitors must create an account and register with JPay. When family members register to have a video visit, they are prompted by JPay through a series of steps to achieve their visit. Video visits must be scheduled at least 24 hours in advance of the time that they are requesting