Corrections and Community Supervision, Department of

Agency Web Site: http://www.doccs.ny.gov/

Mission

The Department of Corrections and Community Supervision is responsible for providing services that offenders need in safe and secure facilities, preparing offenders for release, and ensuring they receive appropriate monitoring and support while under community supervision. The goal of the Department is to enhance public safety by ensuring the successful completion of an offender’s sentence in order to lower the risk of reoffending.

Organization and Staffing

The Department of Corrections and Community Supervision operates 54 correctional facilities across the State. Each facility is managed by a superintendent, who reports to the Commissioner. More than 66 percent of the Department's staff are security personnel with the remaining staff primarily dedicated to the delivery of inmate programs, health services, community supervision, and facility operations.

The Parole Board operates as an independent body housed within DOCCS. The members of the board are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. One member is designated by the Governor to serve as the Board's Chair. Board members review the cases of offenders eligible for parole and determine if the offender should be released to parole supervision.

Budget Highlights

The FY 2019 Executive Budget recommends $3.295 billion for the Department, an increase of $16.2 million from FY 2018. This increase includes $26 million in the capital program offset by a reduction of $9.8 million in State Operations funding. Reductions in State Operations funding include, but are not limited to, savings related to reduced hepatitis C drug costs and the closure of certain special housing units. Capital increases include additional funding for preservation of facilities projects and capital maintenance and operations.

The Executive Budget recommends a workforce of 29,183 FTEs for the Department, a decrease of 71 FTEs from FY 2018. This workforce level reflects a decrease related to the closure of three special housing units, offset by an increase for the implementation of programming related to the NYCLU agreement, and additional Parole Board members.

Program Highlights

Correctional Services

Since peaking at nearly 71,600 in 1999, the under-custody prison population is projected to decline by over 21,000 inmates to approximately 50,300 inmates by the end of the current fiscal year. This decline can be largely attributed to the dramatic drop in the State’s crime rate over the last decade, and the success of legislatively enacted programs that allow certain non-violent offenders to earn time off from their sentences for good behavior and program achievements.

As soon as an inmate enters prison, an assessment is conducted to determine the need for rehabilitative programs. The Department offers a variety of programs designed to improve the prospects of an offender’s successful re-entry into the community. These include educational programming, with the minimum goal of assisting inmates who do not have high school diplomas to receive New York State High School Equivalency Diplomas; apprenticeships; substance abuse treatment services; anger management therapy; and sex offender treatment programs.

Meeting the critical need of providing appropriate levels of medical services is important to the safety of the prison system and to the general public when an inmate is released. The Department acts quickly to diagnose and begin treatment, if necessary, when an inmate enters prison, and provides the greatest degree of services possible to seek a cure. The Department also offers mental health services at several facilities and operates State of the Art Residential Mental Health Units to treat inmates with serious mental illness and disciplinary sanctions.

Community Supervision

The focus of the Community Supervision program is to prepare inmates for reentry into the community; assist the Board in making release determinations; and supervise parolees released from prison while supporting their successful reintegration into the community.

Immediately upon being released from prison, parolees are assigned to a Parole Officer. Parole Officers supervise parolees by monitoring behavior, reviewing employment, evaluating treatment progress, and administering drug tests. In addition to closely monitoring offenders in the community, the Department helps parolees avoid reverting to a life of crime by contracting for various services to support their return to society, such as supportive housing and employment training.

Note: Most recent estimates as of 01/16/2018