Locate Ellen Halbert Unit Inmates

Ellen Halbert Unit Overview

The TDCJ Ellen Halbert Unit page identifies the facility as a Correctional Institutions Division Substance Abuse Felony Punishment Facility in Region VI. It is a female SAFPF in Burnet County, physically close to the U.S. 281 corridor and separate from Burnet County Jail. TDCJ places the unit off Hwy 281 South near the airport in Burnet County, 55 miles northwest of Austin.

The facility type controls the search path. Ellen Halbert Unit is not a county jail, not a local holding cell, and not the booking destination for a new arrest. Its population is made up of state offenders assigned to TDCJ custody and substance-abuse felony punishment programming. That means county jail rules for EarthClass mail, Burnet jail lobby deposits, and Odyssey jail records should not be used for Ellen Halbert Unit unless TDCJ specifically says so.

The facility screenshot that follows is from TDCJ's official Ellen Halbert Unit directory page, the source for the unit address, phone, region, leadership, location description, and facility type.

The TDCJ unit page is the facility-specific reference point, while the inmate locator and IVSS pages handle person-level search and notification.

Ellen Halbert Unit Population

Research located a TDCJ unit page for Ellen Halbert Unit, but the public unit page did not provide a facility capacity number in the inspected material. The Facility Map identifies the population held as sentenced felony offenders assigned to TDCJ substance-abuse felony punishment programming. Because no public unit capacity figure was located in the research, the accurate approach is to describe the facility type and custody system rather than invent a bed count.

Burnet County's detention map has two different systems: the county jail and the state prison system. Burnet County Jail has a sourced 587-bed jail capacity from the sheriff and TCJS. Ellen Halbert Unit is different. It is a TDCJ state facility inside the county, so its inmate lookup, notification, visitation, mail, money, and release information come from TDCJ and Texas IVSS rather than from Burnet County jail records.

Search Ellen Halbert Unit Inmates

Use the official TDCJ inmate search for a person assigned to Ellen Halbert Unit. TDCJ inmate information says location, offenses, and projected release date may be obtained online, by email, or by telephone. For custody status and notifications, use Texas IVSS offender search, which allows name, SID number, or current TDCJ number searches and provides notification options.

1. Open the TDCJ inmate search for state-prison custody.
2. Search by name or TDCJ number when known.
3. Use Texas IVSS when notification signup or SID search is needed.
4. Confirm that the listed location is Ellen Halbert Unit before using facility contact rules.
5. If the person was just arrested in Burnet County, check Burnet County Jail first because TDCJ assignment comes later.

The image that follows comes from the official TDCJ inmate search start page, the state source for locating sentenced inmates rather than county jail detainees.

The locator should be paired with IVSS when the goal is ongoing custody-status notification rather than a one-time location check.

Ellen Halbert Unit Contact

TDCJ lists Ellen Halbert Unit as a Burnet County facility with a direct unit phone number. The unit page also listed facility leadership on the inspected page, including Senior Warden Penny Dickerson; Regional Director Jennifer Cozby for Region VI; Deputy Division Director Lonnie "L.E." Townsend; and Division Director Eric Guerrero. Leadership can change, so the TDCJ unit page should be checked before relying on a name for formal correspondence.

Ellen Halbert Unit Visits

Visitation at Ellen Halbert Unit follows TDCJ rules, not Burnet County Jail's classification schedule. The county jail schedule for Separation/PC, Minimum/Medium, Maximum/Medium, Females, and USMS does not apply to this state facility. TDCJ visitation requires state-level approval, facility-specific confirmation, and compliance with TDCJ visitor rules. The unit page is the facility-specific starting point, and TDCJ's general visitation resources should be checked before travel.

Because Ellen Halbert Unit is a Substance Abuse Felony Punishment Facility, movement, programming, and eligibility can differ from ordinary county jail custody. A visitor should confirm the inmate's current TDCJ location first, then confirm approval and visit availability. State-prison visits can be affected by classification, program status, disciplinary status, transfers, and facility scheduling. Do not rely on Burnet County Jail's onsite or Web Connect Network visit rules for Ellen Halbert Unit.

Ellen Halbert Unit Mail and Money

Mail, phone, and money for Ellen Halbert Unit are TDCJ matters. Do not use Burnet County Jail's EarthClass personal-mail address, Burnet jail lobby kiosk, ConnectNetwork jail-phone instructions, GettingOut tablet funding note, or Burnet S.O. number mail format for a person assigned to Ellen Halbert Unit. The state system uses TDCJ identification and state prison rules.

The TDCJ unit page should be used for facility-specific confirmation, and TDCJ general inmate-information pages should be used for approved visitation, inmate mail, phone, deposits, release, and parole questions. If a person has a recent Burnet County arrest but no TDCJ listing, that can mean the person is still in county custody, has been released, has not yet moved through state intake, or is not assigned to TDCJ. County jail and TDCJ records answer different questions.

Ellen Halbert Unit Intake

Ellen Halbert Unit does not perform the same street-arrest booking role as Burnet County Jail. A person arrested in Burnet County starts in the local jail process if booked locally. If the case leads to a state sentence or state placement, the person moves out of the county jail process and into TDCJ intake, classification, and assignment. Only after that state process should Ellen Halbert Unit appear as a TDCJ location.

This distinction is the main source of lookup mistakes in Burnet County. The county has both a sheriff-operated jail and a TDCJ unit near the U.S. 281 corridor, but the records do not merge into one roster. Burnet County Jail is searched through Odyssey for jail and bond records. Ellen Halbert Unit is searched through TDCJ and IVSS. A transfer from the jail to state custody also changes which agency controls visits, mail, deposits, and release information.

TDCJ

Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the state corrections system.

SAFPF

Substance Abuse Felony Punishment Facility, the program facility type listed for Ellen Halbert Unit.

SID number

State Identification number used in state offender searches.

IVSS

Texas victim-notification and offender-status search channel.

About Ellen Halbert Unit

Ellen Halbert Unit gives Burnet County an unusual detention map: a county jail and a state prison facility sit in the same local area but serve different people and different legal stages. Burnet County Jail handles local custody, bonds, jail visits, jail mail, and the Odyssey jail record path. Ellen Halbert Unit is a TDCJ facility for state offenders assigned to substance-abuse felony punishment programming.

The local geography can add to the confusion. The jail is on County Lane, while Ellen Halbert Unit is on Ellen Halbert Drive and described by TDCJ as off Hwy 281 South near the airport. The two facilities are close enough that a family may see both names during a search, but the right record source depends on custody type. For state custody, start with TDCJ and IVSS. For a new local arrest, start with Burnet County Jail and Odyssey.

Texas IVSS and VINELink also matter for state custody. The Texas Attorney General victim notification page points crime victims to Texas IVSS-Counties and lists 24/7 phone support at 866-268-8959. That notification path is separate from a one-time TDCJ search, and it is useful when a user needs alerts instead of only a current location.