It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), a division of the United States Department of Justice.

It developed into a Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) for young adults (ages 18 – 26) who needed to be in a medium security facility.

[4] On December 19, 2004, inmate Carlos Brewster escaped from the minimum-security prison camp at FCI El Reno.

A fugitive task force led by the US Marshals Service apprehended Brewster three weeks later at a fast-food restaurant in East Los Angeles, California.

[5][6] In August 2011, inmate Joe Villarreal escaped from FCI El Reno, where he was serving a 147-month sentence for drug trafficking.