What Happens When Your Loved One Arrives at McPherson Unit (Intake & Diagnostic)
McPherson Unit serves as Arkansas's Intake/Diagnostic Unit for female offenders. If your loved one is entering the Arkansas Division of Correction system, she'll likely come here first. The facility handles initial intake steps and evaluations before the state decides where she'll be housed long-term.
Note: If your loved one is newly committed to the state system, McPherson may be their first stop because it’s the designated female intake/diagnostic unit.
On receiving days, the intake area accepts the approved number of new commitments by 7:30 a.m., following Classification's instructions. Think of this as an internal schedule - when the facility is set up to receive and process arrivals - not a time connected to visiting or when you'll be able to reach your loved one.
Heads up: “By 7:30 a.m.” is about how intake manages arrivals on receiving days. It isn’t a visiting window or a guarantee of when phone access will happen.
McPherson's intake area can receive up to 100 new commitments per week. That volume is one reason the process can feel like a black box from the outside - staff are moving a lot of people through the same first-day requirements.
Some days are much busier than others. McPherson intake has received as many as 45 new commitments in a single day, creating a surge in processing demands even when everything is running smoothly.
What this means for you: High intake volume can translate into slower processing and more waiting while people are moved through required steps. Delays don’t necessarily signal a problem - they can simply reflect how many arrivals intake is handling that day.
Medical screening happens right when someone arrives at intake. Staff check health needs immediately and start building a baseline record as your loved one enters the system.
Mental health screening also happens at intake. If the screening shows a need for follow-up, referrals are made for mental health appraisals - those must be completed within 14 days. So even if the first day feels rushed and chaotic, that more formal assessment is on a clear timeline.
Intake staff issue basic items and necessities for your loved one's stay at McPherson: shower curtains, mats, tissue, feminine hygiene items, and all clothing she'll use while there.
DNA testing is also handled during intake processing. It's one of the standard steps for getting someone fully entered into the system.
If you have questions or concerns that aren’t covered here, contact ADC Constituent Services at (870) 267-6385 or email ADC.Public.Information@arkansas.gov.
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