Foothills' Two Parts: Main Close‑Custody Institution and the Detached Minimum Custody Unit (Including the Chronic Disease Unit)
Foothills Correctional Institution isn't just one building—it's a main close-custody facility plus a separate Minimum Custody Unit (MCU). Knowing which side someone is housed on can save you real confusion when you're trying to track down their location and understand what that placement means.
Foothills Correctional Institution sits on a 180-acre campus about 3.5 miles south of Morganton, next to Western Youth Institution. Here's where it gets confusing: the Minimum Custody Unit isn't inside the main close-custody footprint. It's a detached unit located behind Western Youth Institution. That's why people sometimes hear "Foothills" and end up at a different entry point entirely, depending on where their loved one is actually housed.
The easiest way to understand Foothills is that the main institution and the MCU serve different custody levels. The main facility houses close-custody offenders, including those between ages 18 and 25. The detached Minimum Custody Unit houses adult minimum-custody offenders. When you hear "main Foothills" versus "MCU," that's the key difference: close custody at the main site, minimum custody at the detached unit.
The MCU matters for another reason beyond custody level - it also houses a chronic disease unit for the Western Region. This regional role can explain why someone ends up there, especially if ongoing medical management is part of their housing needs. If your loved one mentions the "chronic disease unit," they're talking about care at the MCU, not the main close-custody institution.
- ✓ The Minimum Custody Unit provides 56 offenders to the Correctional Enterprise Broughton Laundry Operation.
Practical tip: Planning a visit or checking on medical housing? First confirm whether your loved one is at the main close-custody institution or the detached MCU. Then verify current procedures directly with the facility or through the state system.
The Minimum Custody Unit first received inmates in September 2003. It was converted for offender housing after the IMPACT West Boot Camp program was eliminated in 2002.
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