How Slayton Work Camp (on the Mount Olive grounds) is different from Mount Olive Correctional Complex

Slayton Work Camp is a small, 48-bed minimum-security unit that opened in July 2007. It sits on the grounds of Mount Olive, but it operates as its own entity outside the secure perimeter. Even though it’s separate in that way, Slayton is administered by Mount Olive, which matters when you’re trying to figure out who to contact and which rules apply.

Mount Olive Correctional Complex is the larger facility on the site - and it plays a different role in the state system. It opened in 1995 and is West Virginia’s only maximum-security correctional facility, with a current capacity of 1,030 male inmates. If Slayton feels like “part of Mount Olive” in conversation, this is usually what people mean: the main maximum-security complex.

Placement at Slayton Work Camp typically means your loved one has been classified as appropriate for a minimum-security setting. According to the facility’s description, people assigned to the camp are non-violent and deemed low-risk to the community. That doesn’t answer every question about day-to-day life there, but it does give you the big picture of why someone would be housed at Slayton instead of inside the main maximum-security complex.

The simplest way to think about the difference is security level and where the unit sits in relation to the secure perimeter. Slayton is minimum-security, located on Mount Olive’s grounds, and runs outside the secure perimeter as its own entity. Mount Olive Correctional Complex, on the other hand, is the state’s only maximum-security facility - a very different custody level, with a much larger population and a different mission.

Even though Slayton operates outside the secure perimeter, it’s administered by Mount Olive. The superintendent listed for the Mount Olive/Slayton site is Jonathan Frame. In practice, that shared administration is why you’ll often be directed back to Mount Olive channels when you’re trying to confirm housing, procedures, or updates.

For Families

• ✓ Confirm the exact location where your loved one is housed: Slayton Work Camp (a 48-bed minimum-security unit opened in July 2007) versus the main Mount Olive Correctional Complex.
• ✓ When you’re asking questions, mention that Slayton is on Mount Olive’s grounds but operates outside the secure perimeter - that detail can help staff route you correctly.
• ✓ Use Mount Olive as your starting point for verification, since Slayton is administered by Mount Olive.
• ✓ Before you plan a trip or mail anything, double-check which facility’s rules and processing apply for your loved one’s housing assignment.