On February 21, 2008, the Oregon Youth Authority (OYA) re-opened Oak Creek Youth Correctional Facility as an all-female facility.  Female offenders from Salem's Hillcrest Youth Correctional Facility transitioned to Oak Creek in Albany in late February and March.

The facility has 75 beds in three pods, all of which re-opened for the first time since OYA closed this location in 2002.  The Linn-Benton Detention Center occupies the remaining pod.

The re-opening of Oak Creek provides OYA and the juvenile justice system an opportunity to engage in services specific to our young women in Oregon.  There are some key elements that have been identified in working with a gender-specific population that the Oregon Youth Authority, working with national experts, will utilize in the development of treatment curriculum and service delivery.

Project planning began in Fall 2007.  A project manager led several workgroups responsible for identifying and developing transition planning for all aspects of re-opening the facility, from programming for the young women and the service delivery model to staffing and renovations to the facility.

Approximately 70 people work at Oak Creek, which houses young women offenders from around the state.