Prison Monitoring

Prison Visit Reports

Using the statutory authority granted to the Correctional Association in 1846 by the New York State Legislature, the Women in Prison Project visits correctional facilities throughout New York State that house women to gather information and report on conditions of confinement.

To carry out this mandate, we tour prisons on a regular basis, follow-up with a letter to the facility superintendent and key legislators detailing our findings and recommendations, and conduct advocacy to improve conditions at the facilities we visit.

Methodology

Each Project visit to a women’s correctional facility takes place over the course of two days. We spend the first day interviewing the Inmate Liaison Committee (a group of inmates elected by their peers to represent the concerns of the inmate population), medical and mental health staff, civilian employees, correction officers, the Superintendent, and other prison administrators. The second day consists solely of interviewing inmates, both in disciplinary confinement and the general population, with survey tools we have created that recognize women inmates’ specific needs and circumstances.

Visiting Committee

The Committee is composed of members of the staff and board of the Correctional Association, experts in corrections and in medical and mental health care, formerly incarcerated women and men, and concerned citizens. Each Committee member is required to participate in a training before joining the Project for a visit.

Reporting

After each visit, the Project publishes detailed, facility-specific reports to inform policymakers, prison administrators, inmates and the public about its findings and recommendations. The reports focus on issues related to conditions of confinement at the prison including physical plant conditions, the quality of medical and mental health care, the number, scope and effectiveness of educational and vocational programs and jobs, relations among inmates and staff, and other issues of concern to the individuals who live and work behind prison walls. Along with facility-specific reports, at the end of the visiting cycle, the Project plans to publish a State of the Women’s Prisons report, which will discuss system-wide trends and make recommendations for reform.

As part of our effort to report to the public about prison conditions, we post each prison visit report on our website. The following facility reports are now available:

Prison Visit Reports

Bedford Hills Report and Key Recommendations (January and July 2007)

Report on Mental Health Services and Programs at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility (January 2007)

Albion Report and Key Recommendations (December 2005)

Bedford Hills and Key Recommendations (July and December 2005)

For more information contact Tamar Kraft-Stolar, Women in Prison Project Director, at (212) 254-5700 ext. 306 or email the Correctional Association.