The Virginia Department of Corrections Director is Joseph W. Walters, appointed by Governor Abigail Spanberger on January 17, 2026, as the 11th person to lead the agency.1Virginia Department of Corrections. About Us The Director is the chief executive officer of the largest state agency in Virginia, with more than 11,000 employees and 39 state correctional facilities under the position’s authority.2Virginia Department of Corrections. Monthly Population Summary
Who Is Joseph W. Walters
Walters has more than 30 years in public safety. He started as a local law enforcement officer in Martinsville, joined the Virginia State Police as a trooper in 1993, and rose through the ranks to captain and division commander.3Virginia Department of Corrections. Joseph Walters Appointed as Director of the VADOC He came into VADOC in 2015 as human resources director, was promoted to Deputy Director for Administration in 2018, and served as Senior Deputy Director in 2025 before Governor Spanberger elevated him to the top job.
He holds a bachelor’s degree from Averett College and a master’s in public administration from Virginia Tech, and has completed the University of Virginia’s National Criminal Justice Command College. He is working toward a doctorate in public administration at Liberty University.3Virginia Department of Corrections. Joseph Walters Appointed as Director of the VADOC
Walters replaced Chadwick Dotson, who had led VADOC since 2023 under Governor Glenn Youngkin after serving as Chief Judge of the 30th Judicial Circuit, Commonwealth’s Attorney for Wise County and the City of Norton, a Special Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia, and Chairman of the Virginia Parole Board.4Virginia Department of Corrections. Chadwick Dotson Named Director of Virginia Department of Corrections
How the Director Is Appointed
The Governor selects the Director, but the choice is not final until both chambers of the General Assembly confirm the nominee.5Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 53.1-9 – Appointment of Director; Term The Director’s term runs with the Governor’s four-year term and the Director serves at the Governor’s pleasure, so the Governor can remove the Director at any time without cause. Vacancies are filled the same way. In practice a new Governor almost always names a new Director, which is what happened when Walters took over from Dotson in early 2026.
What the Director Does
Virginia Code § 53.1-10 designates the Director as the department’s chief executive officer and lays out the duties that come with the role.6Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 53.1-10 – Powers and Duties of Director At the top of the list is supervising and managing the department and its entire system of state correctional facilities. That covers day-to-day security operations, staffing, and coordination with the Board of Local and Regional Jails on standards for community correctional programs.
Education and Rehabilitation
The Director must establish and maintain a school system inside correctional facilities covering elementary, secondary, postsecondary, career and technical, adult, and special education. That includes employing a Superintendent, running a functional literacy program for inmates testing below at least the twelfth-grade level, and identifying inmates with learning disabilities.6Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 53.1-10 – Powers and Duties of Director VADOC itself is designated as a local education agency, though it cannot receive direct state aid to public education funding.
Contracts and Budget
The Director can enter contracts needed to carry out the department’s functions, including agreements with the federal government, other states, and local governments.6Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 53.1-10 – Powers and Duties of Director These agreements cover big-ticket items like medical care, food services, and facility maintenance. The line item for operating secure correctional facilities alone runs close to $900 million per year, and the General Assembly’s budget contemplates privatized food service arrangements.7Virginia Legislative Information System. Virginia Budget Bill – SB800 (Introduced) – Item 388 Community corrections and administrative costs add substantially to the total.
Personnel
The Director hires personnel and develops programs subject to the state’s human resource framework and whatever the General Assembly appropriates.6Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 53.1-10 – Powers and Duties of Director With over 11,000 employees, VADOC is the largest single employer in Virginia state government.1Virginia Department of Corrections. About Us Filling vacancies and holding onto staff at facilities across the state is one of the position’s most persistent operational problems, and it directly shapes safety and conditions inside prisons.
Who Oversees the Director
The Director does not run VADOC without checks. Several bodies hold statutory authority over the agency’s work.
Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security
VADOC sits under the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security, a cabinet position. Virginia Code § 2.2-221 places the department among the agencies the Secretary is responsible for.8Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code Title 2.2 Chapter 2 Article 8 – Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security The Secretary is the connection between the Director and the Governor’s office on policy and budget.
Board of Local and Regional Jails
The Board of Local and Regional Jails, operating under Virginia Code § 53.1-5, develops operational and fiscal standards for local, regional, and community correctional facilities, advises the Governor and Director on corrections policy, and sets minimum health care standards for those facilities.9Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 53.1-5 – Powers and Duties of Board Its standard-setting authority runs to local and community facilities rather than the state prisons the Director manages directly, but the Director still has to implement the Board’s goals for community correctional programs.
Office of the Corrections Ombudsman
The Corrections Ombudsman, housed in the Office of the State Inspector General, is an independent check on conditions inside state facilities. The office inspects every state correctional facility at least once every three years, with maximum-security facilities and any facility flagged for concern inspected annually.10Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 53.1-17.2 – Office of the Department of Corrections Ombudsman; Powers and Duties It tracks deaths and suicides in custody, physical and sexual assaults, use of restrictive housing, lockdowns exceeding 24 hours, staff vacancies and turnover, and the handling of inmate grievances, and publishes inspection reports and an annual report. The statute requires the Ombudsman to meet with the Director at least twice per year. The law does not require the Director to act on the Ombudsman’s recommendations, but the reports are public.
Getting Records From the Director’s Office
Records from the department, including records from the Director’s office, are available through Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act. VADOC accepts requests by mail, fax, email, in person, or by phone, and prefers written requests. Send them to FOIA@vadoc.virginia.gov or to the Central Office at P.O. Box 26963, Richmond, VA 23261.11Virginia Department of Corrections. Virginia Freedom of Information Act A request has to identify the records with reasonable specificity. The department is not required to create records that do not already exist, and general questions about VADOC operations are not FOIA requests.