State corrections officials are converting a western Kentucky women's prison into two facilities to make room for male inmates.
The change at the Western Kentucky Correctional Complex will create a 200-bed, minimum-custody facility for women and a 470-bed facility for men. The Department of Corrections says the conversion is estimated to save more than $700,000 annually and increase the number of female offenders in jails eligible to work in community service. The men's side will have a perimeter fence, separating it from the women's prison.
Corrections officials say reforms including substance abuse treatment and changes in sentencing guidelines have lowered the number of women serving prison time in Kentucky.
The prison was converted from a male prison to a facility for women in 2010.