Oversight to Reform: CANY's 2024 Policy Agenda Sets a Path for Progress for New York State’s Prisons
Slate of Bills Address Key Areas to Improve Conditions, Promote Transparency and Accountability, and Reduce Incarceration
Brooklyn, NY - The Correctional Association of New York (CANY) today released its 2024 Policy Agenda, a comprehensive document that outlines support for key legislation to address increasingly pressing issues within New York State's prisons.
Founded in 1844 and empowered by state law to visit and examine the state’s correctional facilities to identify and report on prison conditions, the treatment of incarcerated individuals, and the administration of policy, CANY has a long history of advocating for humane treatment of incarcerated individuals and improvements in conditions for people living in and working in the state’s prisons. The 2024 Policy Agenda builds on this legacy by offering data-driven and evidence-based solutions for the state to adopt.
This comprehensive approach informs a robust agenda for change, touching on core areas such as Oversight, Accountability, and Transparency; Medical and Mental Health Care; Food and Nutrition; Access to Needs; Academic, Vocational, and Work Programs; Prison Wages and Affordability; Human Rights; Sentencing and Parole; and Re-Entry.
"Our 2024 Policy Agenda is a call to action for New York State Legislators to prioritize the humanity and dignity of all individuals impacted by the correctional system," said CANY Executive Director Jennifer Scaife. “By adopting these policies, we can create a better, humane, civil, and effective system that truly supports rehabilitation and successful reentry after prison.”
About CANY
CANY, under §146, of New York’s Correction Law, is charged with visiting and examining the state's correctional facilities to identify and report on prison conditions, the treatment of incarcerated individuals, and the administration of policy promulgated by the executive and legislature. Founded in 1844 by concerned citizens of the state and deputized by the state to provide monitoring and oversight of the state’s prisons in 1846, CANY is one of the first organizations in the country prescribed to administer civilian oversight of prisons.