Facility Overview
California State Prison Solano (SOL)

• P. O. Box 4000, Vacaville, CA 95696-4000

Learn about contacting, visiting, and corresponding with inmates and juveniles who are in our institutions.

• PIA: Book Bindery, Laundry, Metal Fabrication, and Optical.
  
• Vocational: Carpentry, Fiber Optics (electronics), Masonry, Building Maintenance , Office Services and Related Technology (OSRT), Computer Literacy, Residential Electrical, and Welding.
• Academic: Adult Basic Education,GED, Literacy Program, College Program, Voluntary Education Program.
• Inmate Leisure Time Activity Groups (ILTAG) Programs: Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Al-anon, Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP)-Reinforcement, Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP)-Workshops (Basic, Advanced, T4F), Insight Garden Program, Narcotics Anonymous (NA), Pop Tops for Ronald McDonald House Charities, Veteran's Re-Entry Preparation, Youth Diversion Prisoners’ Outreach Program (POP).
• Inmate Self-Help Programs: A Step Closer, American Sign Language, Anger Management, Art Development, Artists Serving Humanity (ASH), Art Technique, Asatru 9-Step, Breaking Barriers, BRIDGES, Celebrate Recovery, Child Support Services, Cleansing Stream, Coffee House, Conflict Recognition and Resolution, Creative Conflict Resolution, Criminals and Gangs Anonymous (CGA), Cultural Awareness Organization, Denial Management, Domestic Violence, Dysfunctional Families, Dysfunctional Families Support Group, Emotional Maturity, Entrepreneurship, Epictetus Club, Facilitator Training, Facilitator/Coordinator Training Workshop, Flight of the Phoenix, Framework for Recovery, Friday Night Lights (FNL), Get on the Bus, Getting Out by Going In (GOGI), Going for the Gold, Growing Up Male, Helping Men Recover, In-Building Self-Help Programs (IBSHPs) – Leadership Development, Insightful Books Club, Katargeo, Languages, Learning Through Languages, Lifer Crochet Group, Locks of Love/Wigs for Kids, Man to Men Process Group, MAN UP, Men of Purpose, Millati Islami: Islamic Pathway Recovery, Motivational Musicals, Music (Band Practice), Music Innovators, Music Program, Music Theory, Parenting, Passport to Purpose, Passport to Purpose Alumni, Pathways to Sobriety, Partnership for Re-Entry Program (PREP), Purpose Driven Life/40 Days of Community, Purpose Driven Life/40 Days of Purpose, Qualified Applicators Course (QAC), RAGE, Real Talk, Recovery, Relapse Prevention, Self-Help Book Groups, Self-Help Book Group, Speak Easy, Tawheed/Changing Faces, The Urban Ministry Institute (TUMI), The Victims Voice, Transcending Reflections, Transformational Meditation, Truck Driving Courses, Veteran’s Assistance, Victim Awareness Phase II, Victims Impact, Victims Voice, Visual Art Class, Yoga.
• Religious Groups: Apostolic, Asatru/Odinism, Assembly of God, Buddhist, Catholic, Christian, Christian Science, Druid, Episcopal, Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Islam, Jehovah’s Witness, Jewish, Latter Day Saints/Mormon, Nation of Islam, Native American, Protestant, Rastafarian, Seventh Day Adventist, Sikh, Wicca, Yahweh Messianist
• Other: Special Events, Motivational Seminars.

Family Unification – Friends Outside Visitor Center:

Pursuant to Penal Code 6352, CDCR is mandated to provide through a contact with a non-profit agency (Friends Outside) an on-site visitor center. The Friends Outside visitor center, called the Friendship House, provided inmate family members assistance with a sheltered area for visitors who are waiting before and after visits, appropriate attire via a clothing exchange, childcare during visiting hours for visitors’ children, assistance with transportation between public transit terminals and the institution, information on visiting regulations and processes, and referrals to other agencies and services.

Family Unification – Family Liaison Services (FLS):

CDCR FLS provides contract staff who will offer personal services to inmates and liaison services between inmates and their families to meet the requirements of Assembly Bill 2848 (AB 2848). The purpose is to alleviate inmate anxiety during incarceration and to promote family unity and reunification to increase the number of parole successes, reduce recidivism and enhance public safety. The Family Liaison Services Specialist also offers Parenting and Creative Conflict Resolution workshops for inmates. The responsibility of the FLS staff is to facilitate successful parole through the provision of personal services regarding family and personal issues by accomplishing the following objectives:

• Increase direct communication between inmates and their families
• Increase the number of visits between inmates and their families
• Increase the number of contacts between institutional staff and the families of inmates
• Locate relatives with whom an inmate has lost contact

Family Unification – Parenting Inside Out:

CDCR contracted with Community Works West to provide Parenting Inside Out (PIO) as a pilot program at selected institutions. CSP-Solano was selected as a pilot institution and implemented PIO on March 5, 2014. PIO offers inmates a 60-hour parenting curriculum recognized in California by Child Protective Services (CPS), a parenting support group for successful graduates, and supervised visits between inmates enrolled in PIO and their children and their care givers. PIO is intended to equip parents with cognitive and behavioral skills they can use to solve problems in the daily lives of their children and families.

DRP Programs

CDCR's Division of Rehabilitative Programs offers a wide range of programs for inmates. Check to see which programs are offered at this institution.

California State Prison, Solano is located in the vibrant city of Vacaville. A family oriented community, booming development and sweeping vistas make it a fantastic city to live and work in. The attractiveness of nearby day trips to Napa, San Francisco, Sacramento or Lake Tahoe adds to the pleasure of living here. The city’s pleasant climate, high quality of life, art and cultural offerings, exceptional restaurants and shops, and diversity make Vacaville and extraordinary place to work, live, relax and play.

Details

CSP-Solano focuses on providing a comprehensive work/training program with academic education, vocational training, and industries assignments geared towards providing inmates with work skills and education. Additionally, the institution has a variety of self-help programs including Al-anon, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP), In-Building Self-Help Programs (IBSHPs), Narcotics Anonymous (NA), The Urban Ministry Institute (TUMI), The Victims Voice, Veterans Assistance, and the Youth Diversion Prisoners’ Outreach Program (POP). Through the educational and vocational training, industries assignments, and self-help programs, the institution provides inmates the opportunity to develop the life skills necessary for successful re-integration into society. The institution is comprised of four separate, semi-autonomous facilities, a 125 bed Administrative Segregation Unit, and a 16 bed Correctional Treatment Center.

History

When the prison opened in 1984, it was administered by the warden of the California Medical Facility.  In January 1992, the two prisons were separated administratively and a warden was assigned to each prison.

• Institution Statistics (SB601)
  • Counting Rules
  • Yearly Archives
• Operational Performance Measures (COMPSTAT)
• Inmate Population Reports

Robert Neuschmid has been the acting Warden at California State Prison, Solano (CSP-SOL) since December 1, 2017. He was officially appointed to Warden by Governor Brown on August 30, 2018. He has also served as the Chief Deputy Warden at CSP-SOL from 2015 to 2017.

Prior to working at CSP-SOL he worked as the Associate Warden of Program and Housing and the Associate Warden of Operations at Folsom State Prison from 2013-2015. Prior to working at Folsom State Prison he was the acting Assistant Deputy Director at the Division of Adult Institutions for a period of six months, providing management oversight for the Program Support Unit, Statewide Transportation Unit, Population Management Unit, Classification Services Unit and Case Records. He also worked as the Chief of the Program Support Unit for over six years.

Prior to his headquarters assignment he had the opportunity to work at Mule Creek State Prison, Folsom State Prison, and California State Prison, Sacramento in various capacities including Procurement Officer, Correctional Business Manager and acting Associate Warden, Healthcare. He started his career as a correctional officer in 1987 at California State Prison, Sacramento.

Steve Cargill became CEO at SOL in 2017 where he leads five clinics and a 16-bed inpatient/specialty facility. He has more than 30 years of executive healthcare leadership experience in hospitals and health plans. Prior to joining SOL, he was the Director for Health Plan operations for Northern California with UnitedHealthcare, and before that in a similar role for eight years with the Blue Cross/Blue Shield contractor. Steve has worked extensively with most of the licensed hospitals and provider groups throughout Northern California in the last 20 years and served as both a clinic and hospital administrator several times, and worked extensively with multiple state and federal agencies guiding regional managed care programs. Steve started his career as a USAF Medical Service Corps officer retiring honorably after 22 years of service.