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Visiting days and hours are Saturdays and Sundays from 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
The following holidays are designated visiting days at State Institution: New Years Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.
For upgraded information in English and Spanish regarding KVSP visitor hours or closures, please contact the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's toll-free Visiting Information Line at (800) 374-8474.
Visitors will be processed onto the Institution no earlier than 7:00 AM.
All visitors must park in the designated visitor parking lot at the most southern area of the Institutional parking lot. Visitors with a valid disabled placard may park in the designated spaces near the Front Entrance Building.
All visitors need to arrive no earlier than sixty minutes before their scheduled visit. Make sure to include your scheduled time on the top of your visiting pass.
The primary method to make appointments will be through the Visitor Processing Appointment Scheduling System (VPASS). To access the VPASS system return to the “Home” page on this site and click “Visiting”, then click on the VPASS area and follow the instructions on the VPASS page to enter your appointment. A small number of appointments will be available through phone in appointments.
Visitors can schedule appointments over the telephone by calling (661) 720-4952 on Mondays through Fridays between the hours of 7:00 AM to 8:00 AM and 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM.
Note: Only one appointment per day can be scheduled to allow for other visitors to have equal access to the schedule process.
There is no penalty for missing a scheduled appointment, but we request that as a courtesy to other visitors, please call to cancel your scheduled appointment if you cannot make the scheduled time or date. Those visitors that are late for their scheduled appointments will be processed as time permits.
Kern Valley State Prison (KVSP) is participating in the VPASS pilot program. VPASS is an on-line program used to schedule appointments for visitor processing (contact visits only). New appointment times for KVSP become available each Sunday at 8:00 p.m. For more information about VPASS go to CDCR Visitation. In the event the VPASS appointments are full you need to contact the institution for their non-appointments/walk-up times.
A CDCR funded Visitor Center is at the institution operated by a community-based organization under contract to CDCR. The Visitor Center provides visiting assistance to family members and friends including a sheltered place to wait before and after visits, transportation to and from local transit terminals, childcare, clothing appropriate for visits on loan, and information about local resources, visiting rules and regulations.
The Visitor Center contact number is (661) 725-3912
Local Inmate Family Councils (IFC's) are a gathering of family and friends of the incarcerated who meet regularly with Wardens to support visiting since keeping strong family connections with loved ones is a powerful rehabilitative tool. These IFC's promote visiting by clarifying rules and regulations as well as discussing health, education, vocational training, packages, books, and related issues. For more information on connecting with a local IFC, please visit the Statewide IFC website.
From Sacramento:
From Los Angeles:
Kern Valley State Prison is located approximately 250 miles south of Sacramento and approximately 180 miles north of Los Angeles. It is approximately 4 miles south of North Kern State Prison. For additional information, visit this link to customize your driving directions.
Best Western
14394 County Line Road
Delano, CA 93215
(661) 725-0976
Rodeway Inn
2211 Girard Street
Delano, CA 93215
(661) 725-1022
Shilo Inn
2231 Girard Street
Delano, CA 93215
(661) 725-7551
Aerial photo. Click image for larger view.
The primary mission of Kern Valley State Prison is to protect the public by providing safe custody, quality health care and the appropriate supervision of sentenced offenders. In conjunction with the Mission, the institution will promote viable work assignments, vocational training, and educational opportunities for offenders in order to foster an environment wherein positive changes can occur.
The secondary mission of Kern Valley State Prison is to provide meaningful work, training, and education programs for inmates who do not meet the criteria for assignment to a conservation camp. These alternative assignments include academic and vocational trade programs, facility maintenance jobs, food service positions, and other facility support assignments.
KVSP is a Level IV facility consisting of four (4) semi-autonomous 180 designed facilities and two (2) stand alone Administrative Segregation Units all surrounded by a Lethal Electrified Perimeter Fence. There is also a Level I Minimum Support Facility (MSF). Facility D (180) will house the Transitional Housing Unit. It is on 600 acres with 200 acres across the street that PIA grow alfalfa on. We received Level I's in June 2005 and Level IV's in July 2005.
Christian Pfeiffer, Warden.
Christian Pfeiffer has been warden or acting Warden at Kern Valley State Prison since November 2015. He held multiple positions at Kern Valley State Prison from 2012 to 2015, including Chief Deputy Warden and Correctional Administrator.
He was the Classification and Paroles Representative at Wasco State Prison – Reception Center from 2008 to 2012.
Prior to 2008, he held numerous positions at Kern Valley State Prison, California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison at Corcoran, and Regional Accounting Office- Corcoran. The positions include Correctional Counselor I, Correctional Counselor II and Accounting Officer and Accountant Trainee.
