News

Testimony before the

New York City Council

Committee on Criminal Justice

Chair Carlina Rivera

Kat Thomson, Chief of Staff

NYC Department of Correction

September 29, 2023

Good morning, Chair Rivera and members of the Committee on Criminal Justice. I am Kat Thomson, Chief of Staff for the NYC Department of Correction (“Department” or “DOC”). I am joined today by the Deputy Commissioner of the Division of Programs and Community Partnerships (“Division” or “Programs”), Francis Torres, and Assistant Commissioners Nell McCarty and Valerie Greisokh to provide an update on the Department’s programs and reentry services since insourcing large contract services as part of the Fiscal Year 2024 Adopted Budget.

Division of Programs Overview

We believe that everyone benefits when individuals in custody are afforded the tools that they need to have less adverse contact with the justice system in the future. To this end, individuals in the Department’s care can access an array of robust services and opportunities that support change and successful community reintegration. Most of these services are afforded by the Department through Programs staff, including arts, enhanced recreation, law library, chaplaincy, social services, and individual and group-based counseling. Staff assigned to the Division of Programs and Community Partnerships also lead community-engagement days, conduct family interventions, and respond to some emergencies within the jails to assist in de-escalating or problem solving with people in custody. In addition to these core services, the Department of Education provides education in schools, and volunteers afford all kinds of enrichment activities.

The Division of Programs is comprised of a highly skilled and dedicated group of individuals who do tremendous work in the jails every day. All Programs staff are trained in evidence-based curriculum and best practices, and continue to participate in ongoing training and development throughout their careers at the Department. They bring a wealth of diverse skills, experiences, and perspectives to their work. On average, Division staff have worked for the agency for seven years, with nearly 80 percent holding higher education degrees ranging from Associates to Doctoral Degrees. Many of these staff members started their careers with community-based organizations, and several, including senior staff members, also have lived experience within the justice system and with issues that can impact justice involvement. Their work is critical to the Department’s goals of building safe and humane jails, and preparing individuals in custody for a successful return to their community.

Programs Insourcing Update

As this body is aware, in order to comply with the Mayor’s mandated four percent budget reduction in the Fiscal Year 2024 Adopted Budget, the Department terminated large contracts with external program providers and insourced the services they were providing. The primary role of external providers under these contracts was to afford group-based services on the housing units, in addition to the core services afforded by DOC Programs staff. The Department has implemented several strategic measures over the last few months to ensure individuals in custody continue to receive robust and meaningful programs and services in the absence of these contracts.

Since 2015, our Counseling Unit staff have been the primary staff leading group facilitation within certain housing areas, including our Adolescent and Emergent Adult units and most recently our Enhanced Supervision Housing units. Because of this, they were well positioned to assume these responsibilities Department-wide once the contracts ended. Between May and June of this year, we engaged with labor union leadership to change the tasks and standards for Associate Correctional Counselors within the Counseling Unit so that they could provide group-based counseling services for the whole population. These changes required a shift in some of their other responsibilities. Prior to implementing any changes for our staff, we held internal meetings with staff to provide transparent information about upcoming changes. Individuals in custody were also informed of the transition of group facilitation and one-to-one counseling by contracted providers to Department Counseling staff members. Staff were provided with refresher trainings on facilitation techniques, evidence-based practices, and curricula to ensure they were prepared to assume these responsibilities.

Of course, we knew we could not simply ask our Associate Correctional Counselors to take on more responsibilities without creating efficiencies and shifting responsibilities in other areas. Previously, Associate Correctional Counselors were providing most services in a one-on-one format. Under the new model, Associate Correctional Counselors provide people in custody with the same frequency of programming, just now in a group format; the goals of counseling sessions have not changed but rather broadened to incorporate a group experience. Individuals still have access to one-on-one engagement through various other Programs staff and activities, such as chaplaincy services, enhanced recreational services, and the fine and performing arts team. We have also shifted the way in which social services are accessed and supported. Social service requests can now be submitted through the tablets, and we recently onboarded five Supervising Counselors who are supporting the provision of social services across each jail. These operational changes have reduced the workload related to social service requests for the Associate Correctional Counselors, allowing more time for the provision of group services. Furthermore, this month the Counseling Unit welcomed a new Deputy Director to provide additional support and guidance to the team; a second Deputy Director will join the team in October. Lastly, I would like to highlight that NYC Health + Hospitals/Correctional Health Services (CHS) remains a partner and the only provider of mental health therapy and counseling for those in custody. For issues that are beyond the scope of the Division of Programs, DOC continues to partner with CHS through referrals to mental health services.

The Department continues to partner with the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (“MOCJ”) and contracted reentry providers to afford transition planning for individuals in our care. Transition Coordinators meet with incarcerated individuals to assist with discharge planning and make referrals to community-based services, including assistance with housing and employment. They also assist individuals who are transitioning to state prison by providing them resources and information about the transfer process and the services available upstate. On September 15^th, we launched a new tablet feature enabling incarcerated individuals to connect directly with Transition Coordinators if they need assistance with transition planning. Our goal is to ensure that everyone has the resources and support they need to prepare for their next step. The Department’s reintegration services are designed to address individuals’ specific needs and we proudly partner with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the NYC Department of Veterans’ Services to afford tailored services to the Veterans in our care. We also partner with organizations such as the Women’s Prison Association and the Women’s Community Justice Association to afford services designed specifically for women, and we work closely with Youth Justice Network and SCO Family of Services to support emerging adults. In addition, we continue to release eligible sentenced individuals through the Article 6A Work Release Program. Since the beginning of this administration, we have released 67 individuals, 90 percent of which successfully completed the remainder of their sentence in the community. Finally, I will emphasize that the reentry services provided by contracted providers have not changed. These contracts are held by our partners at the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (“MOCJ”) and were not impacted by the Department’s in-sourcing.

I would like to highlight that, despite this shift in operations, individuals in custody continue to have access to a majority of programs and services in the same manner as they were previously afforded. Not only have we continued to provide high quality programs and services through this transition, we have also continued to expand certain program areas and implement new initiatives. We have strengthened and expanded substance use and addiction programming and housing areas, as well as faith-based services. We also continue to strengthen visitation programs, so that parents can maintain important family ties and meaningfully engage with their children. The Department partners with the Children’s Museum of Manhattan (“CMOM”) to facilitate family visits between incarcerated parents and their children in the community. Recently, the Department worked with CMOM to bring some of their exhibits to DOC visit houses to provide children and families with interactive activities and experiences for bonding in the visit areas. The Department also launched a new partnership with the Twinning Project, which teaches soccer to incarcerated individuals to promote teamwork, physical activity, and physical health. This month and next month, we will integrate other providers as part of our advancement and enrichment opportunities to include our robust menu of workforce development’s certificates and certifications. It is our goal to continue expanding and refining services offerings through conversation with people in custody and critical partnerships with community-based organizations.

Preconsidered Legislation

Now I will briefly turn to the proposed legislation, Int. 1203. The bill would require the Department to provide a letter of incarceration, also known as jail release papers or discharge papers, to every person that gets released from the Department’s custody. The Department recognizes that letters of incarceration can be helpful in obtaining identification or other services and benefits after release to the community, and currently providers letters of incarceration to individuals upon request. With current resources and operations, it may be challenging to provide letters of incarceration upon release for all people in custody. Nonetheless, the Department appreciates the intent of the proposed legislation and looks forward to discussing this bill further with Council.

Conclusion

We recognize that this fiscal year brought about a major shift in the manner in which the Department affords some programs and services. There were certainly challenges, which is to be expected with any major shift in operations. However, over the past 20 months, this Department has demonstrated that we are willing and able to face challenges head-on and come to thoughtful solutions the serve the people in our care. We owe much of our success to our amazing Programs staff and their dedication throughout this transition.

Thank you for the opportunity to share about the great work of our Division of Programs and Community Partnerships, we are available to answer your questions.