Find Work Center Releases

Work Center Release Paths

Forrest County Community Work Center is part of the Mississippi Department of Corrections institution network. It is not Forrest County Adult Detention Center. Eligible people assigned there remain in state correctional custody, even though the placement is in the Hattiesburg area and differs from a secure state prison. A person who leaves this work center might move to another MDOC unit. The person might also enter earned release supervision, receive parole after a State Parole Board decision, reach another community placement, or complete the sentence through discharge.

The distinction is vital because a location change proves only that the prior placement changed. It does not show that all custody or supervision ended. MDOC describes earned release supervision, or ERS, as a supervised state release path for eligible people. Parole is also supervised, but it depends on a separate decision by the Mississippi State Parole Board. A discharge has a different meaning: the applicable sentence or supervision has ended. When the outcome is uncertain, the MDOC record and a discharge or supervision document are stronger than a missing unit name.

Confirm Community Work Center Release

The correct first tool is the MDOC Inmate Search. Search with the MDOC identification number when it is known. That number is more precise than a name and reduces the chance of confusing two people. A name search still requires identity checks. Compare the birth date, physical details, county of conviction, sentence information, and photograph before treating a result as a match.

1. Open the official MDOC search and enter the MDOC number or name.
2. Match identity fields and confirm the correct Forrest County conviction when relevant.
3. Read the location, unit, and location-change date as separate fields.
4. Record the status wording and any release-related field exactly as shown.
5. Do not substitute the Tentative Release Date for an actual release event.
6. Ask MDOC Records for discharge or time-computation proof if the public detail is unclear.

A person can remain searchable after leaving an institution, which makes MDOC more useful than a current-only county jail list for state prisoners. Still, the public screen may show a status without the full history. When it says parole or ERS, follow up with MDOC Community Corrections to verify the type of supervision and the assigned office. When it shows a new unit, search that placement rather than calling the change a release.

For a broader county-to-state search path, the Forrest County released-inmate search explains how the county booking record can link to an MDOC commitment. Note: A county of conviction identifies the case source, while the location field identifies the current state placement.

MDOC Work Center Record Fields

The MDOC detail observed in the Forrest County research contains enough fields to distinguish a person and understand the sentence, but no single field should be read in isolation. The exact label Tentative Release Date matters. “Tentative” means subject to the state calculation and legal conditions. It is not a past-tense release date.

The public detail can also include identity and physical descriptors, entry date, number of sentences, and a photograph. Use only what is needed to confirm a match. If a status or historical field does not establish completion, request the discharge certificate or public release record from MDOC. That document answers a different question than the tentative-date display.

Work Center Release Records

MDOC Records is the proper custodian for state release and discharge documents. A focused request should include the person's full name and MDOC number, identify the record sought, and ask for an electronic copy when available. Useful record names include the discharge certificate, public offender status or release history, and the sentence or time sheet. A request for a defined record is easier to process than a broad demand for every document in an offender file.

The published MDOC schedule lists a $2 minimum, $0.25 per letter-size page, $0.35 per legal-size page, $10 per staff hour, and postage. An estimate may require prepayment by cashier's check or money order. Confirm current costs before paying. Active and inactive offender master files are described as public subject to exemptions, but protected medical, security, victim, and personal data may be withheld or redacted.

Under the Mississippi Public Records Act, ask the custodian to cite any exemption and release separable public portions. A discharge certificate is stronger evidence of sentence completion than a past tentative date. A supervision status, by contrast, shows that the person is in the community while still subject to state terms.

About the Forrest Work Center

The Forrest County Community Work Center serves eligible MDOC inmates in the Hattiesburg and Forrest County area. The facility map classifies it as a state community work center. It does not function as the county's pretrial jail, and the Forrest County Sheriff does not control its offender status records. MDOC assigns people within its statewide system after sentencing, so a Forrest County conviction can lead to a placement here or elsewhere in Mississippi.

Use the current MDOC facilities directory for the center's address and telephone. Institutional details can change, and the research does not support freezing an old street address or phone number into the record. The directory is also the right source for the current facility name and institutional contact route. Release questions that involve sentence computation or discharge belong with MDOC Records, not merely the local facility switchboard.

Transfer

A move from one custodian or correctional placement to another.

ERS

Earned release supervision, an eligible state release path with continued supervision.

Parole

Conditional release approved by the Mississippi State Parole Board.

Discharge

Documented completion of the applicable sentence or supervision.

Forrest County Custody Overlap

Forrest County has both a sheriff-operated Adult Detention Center and an MDOC Community Work Center in the Hattiesburg area. That local overlap makes the phrase “Forrest County inmate” unusually unclear. The Adult Detention Center holds county bookings and uses sheriff records. The Community Work Center is a state placement and uses the statewide MDOC offender record. Selecting the wrong portal can produce a false negative or lead to a mistaken claim that a person was released.

Start with the booking or offender number. A county booking number belongs with the Forrest County Sheriff's records custodian. An MDOC number belongs with the state search and MDOC Records. If a county release entry says the person was remanded or transferred to MDOC, the local transaction closes county custody but begins or continues state custody. Follow the named destination and compare it with the MDOC location field.

This local distinction also explains why the county's JailTracker page should not be used for a Community Work Center release. JailTracker is described as a current-inmate list for the county jail. It is not the state offender database and does not establish a work-center transfer, parole placement, ERS status, or discharge.

Forrest Work Center Release Dates

MDOC calculates ERS, tentative, and maximum dates when a person is sentenced. Each date has its own purpose. ERS can mark eligibility for a supervised pathway. A tentative release date reflects the department's current computation. A maximum date reflects another endpoint. None alone proves that the person physically left the Forrest County Community Work Center or completed all supervision.

Sentence dates and terms start the calculation, while eligible jail credit, earned-time law, offense category, classification, discipline, other sentences, court changes, and detainers can affect the outcome. Mississippi Code sections 47-5-138 and 47-5-139 govern earned time and ineligibility categories. A reader should not subtract a broad percentage from a sentence and announce a release day.

MDOC's release process may include case planning, residence review, detainer checks, and preparation of a discharge certificate. The agency FAQ says that expected parole and ERS dates are not guaranteed. Confirm the most recent state record, then seek the final document when proof of the completed event matters.

Federal and ICE Handoffs

A person leaving an MDOC placement may face a hold or transfer to another authority. If a state record identifies a federal destination, use the BOP or federal court path. The U.S. Marshals Service manages many federal prisoners before prison designation and during transport. A move to USMS custody is not release to the community, even though the person no longer appears at the work center.

If ICE is identified, use the ICE Online Detainee Locator System and ICE detention-information contact. A civil immigration transfer remains custody. Ask MDOC when state custody was relinquished and ask the receiving agency for present status. Those two records describe different links in the same chain.

No federal prison or verified ICE detention facility in Forrest County was identified. The point is not that such a facility operates at the Community Work Center. The key is to follow any named receiving agency instead of equating a location change with freedom. Note: A receiving-agency field can turn an unclear release entry into a traceable custody handoff.