Warden Dewayne Burton
1728 Bluewater Highway
Ionia, MI 48846

Current jobs

TELEPHONE: (616) 527-3100
OPEN 1958
AGE LIMIT: Males, 18 and older               
SECURITY LEVEL: II

General

The Richard A. Handlon Correctional Facility was named after the prison's first warden. The philosophy of MTU is that a prisoner who has completed the GED and learned a marketable skill has a much better chance of becoming a contributing member of society.

The facility houses general population prisoners, along with other prisoners who have been placed in the Adaptive Skills Residential Program (ASRP) and the Residential Treatment Program (RTP).  The ASRP is for prisoners who have significant limitations in adaptive functioning due to a developmental disability or chronic brain disorder.  The RTP is for Prisoners with a mental illness, whose mental health needs cannot be managed in a general population setting. These prisoners require medication, group and individual treatment for symptom management and improvement.   

Programming

The major program emphasis at the facility revolves around academic, vocational education, and special education. The facility houses the Vocational Village (VV) - a first-of-its-kind skilled trades training program that aims to provide a positive learning community for prisoners who are serious about completing career and technical education.  Beyond training the prisoners in demand-driven trades, staff at the facility work with employers and community partners to actively assist graduates of the VV program in their employment goals. Many graduates of the VV have employment arrangements prior to leaving the facility on parole. Also, the academic program is framed with the GED continuum, including Adult Basic Education and GED preparation as well as the Calvin College, Calvin Prison Initiative program that provides liberal arts education in ministry leadership. Supplements are Job Skills, Health Education and Independent Living Skills.  Work socialization to assist prisoner workers in meeting community standards is an ongoing part of routine work assignments.
Recreation and leisure time programming is offered to assist in team building skills. Religious services serving all recognized religious groups are offered, Professional staff offer counseling in the areas of violence, sexual acting out and criminal thinking.  The goal is to modify self-destructive behaviors and replace them with goal-directed positive thought processes.
Prisoners are provided on-site medical and dental care. Emergencies can be referred to a local hospital, and more serious problems are treated at the department's Duane L. Waters Health Center in Jackson.