What Is 'The Beacon' at Skyline Correctional Center?

At Skyline Correctional Center, “The Beacon” isn’t a separate unit or a slogan slapped on top of the same routines. It’s how the facility describes its mission after reopening: a Level I setting built to create space for self-improvement, an increased level of choice, and a positive community focus. For families, that mission matters because it signals what the facility is trying to prioritize in day-to-day culture - growth, responsibility, and community - rather than focusing only on restrictions and control.

The Beacon model also shows up in how Skyline is structured. The facility has been redeveloped to consist only of single cells, which is a concrete, physical change - not just a philosophical one. Alongside that redevelopment, Skyline describes its reopening as a mission shift toward creating an environment where people can work on self-improvement, have more choice, and participate in a community-centered culture.

Another structural piece of the Beacon approach is the use of incarcerated residents in formal, peer-support roles. At Skyline, 10 residents work as Community Advocates. Their job is to help guide and assist their peers, while also working alongside CDOC staff - something that fits with a model that emphasizes collaboration and community-building inside the facility.

If you’re trying to picture what “The Beacon” could mean for your loved one’s everyday experience, start with the values the facility highlights: self-improvement, increased choice, and a positive community focus. That can shape the tone of interactions - how peers relate to each other, and how responsibility and growth are talked about day to day. The Community Advocate role is one example of how that culture might be supported in practice, since those advocates are specifically there to guide and assist other residents and coordinate alongside staff.

For the most reliable, up-to-date explanation of how Skyline describes “The Beacon,” check the Colorado Department of Corrections’ Skyline Correctional Center facility page. That’s where CDOC posts its official overview of the model and what the facility says it is working to build.