Dover, DE – The Delaware Department of Correction announced today that Kimberly Hughey, Warden of Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution, has been promoted to Deputy Chief of the Bureau of Community Corrections and Natasha Hollingsworth, Deputy Warden of Howard R. Young Correctional Institution, has been promoted to Warden of Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution (BWCI). Both appointments are effective this coming week.

“Deputy Bureau Chief Hughey and Warden Hollingsworth are veteran Department of Correction professionals whose training, management experience, and demonstrated leadership have helped us maintain safety and security while modernizing and enhancing programming, treatment, and services to meet our reentry mission,” said Department of Correction Commissioner Terra Taylor. “I welcome Deputy Chief Hughey’s return to the Bureau of Community Corrections to support their facilities and help community corrections programs achieve even greater success. I congratulate Warden Hollinsworth for taking on the responsibility and the opportunity to employ innovation, firmness, and compassion at BWCI to meet the rehabilitation needs of incarcerated women.”

Incoming Deputy Bureau Chief of Community Corrections Kimberly Hughey, who has served as Warden of Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution since December, 2022, completed her Correctional Officer academy training in 2006 and was assigned to James T. Vaughn Correctional Center and Sussex Correctional Institution, returning to JTVCC in 2009 and earning promotions to Corporal and Sergeant. In 2015, she was promoted to Lieutenant at BWCI where she served as a Disciplinary Hearing Officer and assisted with Offender Classification. In 2017, she was promoted to Staff Lieutenant and a Shift Commander at Howard R. Young Correctional Institution and in 2018 she served as the Staff Lieutenant at New Castle County Community Corrections where she served as Scheduling Officer, Training Administrator, and Emergency Preparedness Coordinator. In 2019, she was promoted to Major and Security Superintendent at BWCI with responsibility for security and safety programs of the facility. Since her promotion to BWCI Deputy Warden in March 2021 and further promotion to Warden in 2022, she has directed day-to-day facility operations of Delaware’s only prison facility for women, including facility operations and food service, staff assignment and supervision, the facility’s comprehensive rehabilitative programs, collaboration with partners that provide on-site educational instruction and contracted healthcare services, and fiscal administration. IN these roles, Hughey skillfully navigated the extraordinary COVID-related correctional challenges of enforcing safety and wellness protocols while supporting treatment and programming to support reentry and reduce recidivism. Hughey has served as a co-instructor with the Delaware Office of Management and Budget on Coaching and Counseling and Moving Into Supervision and she teaches Criminal Justice courses at Delaware Tech as an Adjunct Instructor. She has completed the Warden’s Peer and Gender Responsiveness in Women’s Correctional Facilities program and has served as a facilitator for American Correctional Association (ACA) workshops. Hughey is a 2024 graduate from the National Jail Leadership Command Academy and a 2025 graduate from the Great Warden’s Project Leadership Academy.  She has earned multiple higher education degrees, including a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice, a Master’s Degree in Administration of Justice, and a Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership, Learning & Innovation all from Wilmington University. Deputy Bureau Chief Hughey is an active member in the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc., and the National Honor Society of Criminal Justice (Alpha Phi Sigma).

Incoming Warden of Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution Natasha Hollingsworth has most recently served as Deputy Warden of Howard R. Young Correctional Institution (HRYCI) since January 2023. Hollingsworth completed her Academy training and joined the DOC as a Correctional Officer in 2000, subsequently earning promotions to Correctional Corporal and Correctional Lieutenant. In 2015 she was promoted to Correctional Captain and assigned to Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution (BWCI) where her facility-wide responsibilities included shift supervisor, managing the Field Training Officer program, facility investigations and hearing officer. In 2018 she was promoted to Major at BWCI where she served on the Warden’s senior leadership team and as facility Security Superintendent with day-to-day responsibility for maintaining safety and security for correctional officers, staff, and inmates. During this time, she also took on responsibilities of Acting Deputy Warden, with additional facility-wide supervisory responsibilities for staff, oversight of contracted healthcare services, budget and administration, and facility management. In 2019 Hollingsworth was Promoted to Deputy Warden and assigned to James T. Vaughn Correctional Center, the state’s largest correctional facility. At JTVCC she chaired the facility’s successful initiative to secure national accreditation. As Deputy Warden at JTVCC (2019-2023) and at HRYCI (2023-present) her responsibilities included engaging with internal and external stakeholders to implement and enhance programs and services, budget review and preparation, oversight of contracted healthcare services and therapeutic programming, collaboration with educational and vocational training partners, and providing direction and supervision to facility operations and uniformed and non-uniformed managers. Hollingsworth has completed numerous specialized trainings, certifications and leadership development programs. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice and a Master’s Degree in Administration of Justice, both from Wilmington University.

The Bureau of Community Corrections oversees probation and parole, pretrial services, the community work release program, electronic monitoring and other supervision programs for more than 10,000 individuals statewide who are housed in Work Release and Violation of Probation facilities and the statewide Community Corrections Treatment Center, or are serving probationary sentences in the community. Its 300 Probation and Parole Officers along with support staff work to reduce crime and support public safety by assessing offender risks and needs and providing responsive supervision through comprehensive evidence-based reentry focused programs that feature substance abuse treatment, mental health services, career counseling, education and training. Bureau staff collaborate on a daily basis with medical and behavioral healthcare professionals, community organizations, service providers, state agencies, employers and the Judiciary to connect men and women under their supervision to systems of support that improve their chances of leading productive lives in our communities. They also play an active role in collaborative crime reduction initiatives, including the Group Violence Intervention project in the City of Wilmington

The Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution, the only women’s prison in Delaware, opened in December 1991. The facility houses both pre-trial and sentenced adult females at minimum, medium, and maximum security levels. BWCI provides programming at all security levels. Programming provides offenders with opportunities to gain knowledge, acquire skills and learn an alternative lifestyle. BWCI provides treatment services, religious services, drug therapy, educational/vocational programs, counseling, and recreation.

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