West Virginia Division of Corrections

Mission Statement

It is the mission of the Northern Correctional Facility to provide a safe, secure, and humane environment for the public, staff, and inmate population; improve the delivery of correctional services and programs through re-entry initiatives; provide services to victims; while being responsive to the needs of the inmates and concerns of staff.

Leadership Biography

On 15 September 1998, Commissioner William Davis appointed Evelyn M. Seifert as Warden of the Northern Correctional Facility, Moundsville, West Virginia.  Evelyn was the first female Warden in the State of West Virginia.  Warden Seifert was selected because of her extensive background and experience in the field of Corrections.

Warden Seifert began her career in 1981 as a Correctional Officer I at the former West Virginia Penitentiary in Moundsville, West Virginia.  Evelyn was promoted to the rank of sergeant in March 1991.  In July 1993, when the former West Virginia Penitentiary went under the Unit Management style of operations, she became one of the first Unit Managers.  In her position of Unit Manager, she was responsible for the overall operation of the Protective Custody Unit.  The Protective Custody Unit was the first unit to be closed at the Penitentiary and she was transferred to the North Hall Control Unit as Unit Manager.  When the former West Virginia Penitentiary closed and the Northern Correctional Facility opened, Evelyn was assigned as the Unit Manager of male and female inmates housed in Special Management, Segregation, and Mainline Status.  She was instrumental in assisting with the implementation of the state’s first Behavior Improvement Unit.

In April 1998, Evelyn served as Acting Warden of the Ohio County Correctional Complex.  She was tasked with getting this new facility “open and functioning” as a 54 bed facility, housing convicted female felons ranging in status from Receiving to Maximum.  In September 1998, Evelyn was appointed Warden of the Northern Correctional Facility.

Warden Seifert directs her attention to the development of staff who will work together as a “team” and staff who will provide fair and consistent implementation of rules and regulations to the inmate population

Personnel

• Warden - Evelyn Seifert
• Associate Warden of Programs - Greg Yahnke 
• Associate Warden of Operations - Karen Pszczolkowski
• Associate Warden of Security - Richard P. Lohr  

History

The Northern Regional Jail and Correctional Facility was dedicated on 24 August 1994.  This facility is “unique” in the aspect that it is two separate and distinct entities, a Correctional Facility under the direction of the West Virginia Division of Corrections and a Regional Jail under the direction of the Regional Jail Authority. The Northern Correctional Facility, which is a Level V (Maximum Security) Correctional Facility, received its first inmates on 31 August 1994.  The initial intention was to house male offenders, however, due to the experience of the staff (being former penitentiary employees) this changed.  NCF was housing male and female offenders, operating a DOC receiving unit, and establishing the state’s first Behavior Improvement Unit (BIU).  Today NCF houses approximately 253 male inmates, some in double bunked cells, who have been convicted of serious offenses against persons and property or are special management cases.  NCF operates under a Unit Management philosophy and utilizes a team approach to inmate management.  The Northern Correctional Facility maintains General Population and a short-term Segregation Unit for those DOC inmates who have been found guilty of a rule violation and sentenced to serve segregation time by the Institutional Hearing Officer. 

The Northern Correctional Facility is accredited by the American Correctional Association (ACA).  ACA is designed to ensure that correctional facilities provide the basic programs and services required for good correctional practice, the standards and accreditation process also prescribes safe working conditions for both staff and inmates.  In January 1999, NCF became DOC’s first facility to become accredited.