Correctional Association of New York Releases Visit Report on Coxsackie Correctional Facility
Extreme Heat Conditions, Affordability of Food Items in Commissary, and Long Wait Times for Healthcare Are Top Concerns
BROOKLYN, NY — As part of its oversight mandate pursuant to Correctional Law §146(3), the Correctional Assocation of New York (CANY) released a Post-Visit Briefing and Recommendations Report on monitoring of Coxsackie Correctional Facility, a maximum-security men’s prison in Coxsackie, NY, following a visit to the prison in July 2022. Through the two-day monitoring visit, CANY held a series of meetings with prison staff as well as structed interviews with incarcerated individuals, carrying out a total of 97 interviews with incarcerated individuals in general population housing areas, the Residential Rehabilitation Unit (RRU), the Special Housing Unit (SHU), the Residential Mental Health Unit (RMHU), and the Regional Medical Unit (RMU).
The briefing identifies several key findings, among them that extreme summertime temperatures posed serious challenges to the health of incarcerated people and staff at Coxsackie; that incarcerated individuals continue to struggle with the affordability of food and other basic goods from the prison commissary; and that incarceratedindividuals in general population were subject to long waits for needed medical care at Coxsackie. Long wait times for medical are especially concerning as Coxsackie is home to a Department of Corrections and Community Supervision’s (DOCCS) Regional Medical Units (RMU), facilities designed and designated to provide skilled medical care for incarcerated individuals with advanced needs. The report also documentsCANY’s monitoring of the early months of implementation of the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement Act (HALT), which limits the use of solitary confinement in state prisons. Among the concerns noted in relation to HALT were that individuals incarcerated in disciplinary units did not receive sufficient access to out-of-cell time and appropriate programs.
CANY offers a range of recommendations for addressing these issues, including that the State Department of Environmental Conservation to analyze the impact of extreme heat on incarcerated individuals and people working in prisons as part of the agency’s Extreme Heat Action Plan Work Group, that DOCCS to conduct an assessment into its commissary offerings, and that policymakers to designate the New York State Department of Health as the oversight entity for all healthcare provided in DOCCS facilities. The full report, including a detailed account of each of the findings and recommendations, can be found at www.correctionalassociation.org/reports.
"Our visit to Coxsackie Correctional Facility has shed light on several concerning issues within our correctional system. We believe that extreme heat conditions and affordability of food items in the commissary pose serious challenges to the health and well-being of incarcerated individuals and staff. Additionally, we note that long wait times for healthcare and slow emergency response times persist, even in facilities designed to provide skilled medical care for incarcerated individuals with advanced needs,” said Jennifer Scaife, Executive Director at the Correctional Association of New York. “During our visit, we also witnessed the impacts of climate change firsthand, and we urge policymakers to take proactive measures to address this issue. CANY has recommended several measures, including the distribution of more fans, maintaining a list of incarcerated individuals and staff with medical conditions, wellness checks, greater access to ice, water, and showers, and more shade on exercise yards, that should be in any heat mitigation plan. We urge the State to take these recommendations seriously and prioritize the health and well-being of those in their care."
Post-Visit Briefing and Recommendations Report
No.22-09: Monitoring Visit to Coxsackie Correctional Facility | July 20-21, 2022
