CANY Releases Report following Monitoring at Collins Correctional Facility
January 22, 2026
Contact: media@correctionalassociation.org
Facility with Two Separate Sides Causes Logistical Hurdles
Collins Correctional Facility, opened in 1894 as Gowanda Psychiatric Center, contains numerous antiquated structures spread across a compound that is divided by a public road. This layout has caused many services to be duplicated on each side of the facility, leading to inefficiencies exacerbated by staffing shortages. In November 2025, Governor Kathy Hochul and Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) Daniel F. Martuscello, III, announced the partial closure of Collins by consolidating services on one side of the facility, which will likely improve logistical challenges related to the physical layout of the prison.
During CANY’s two-day monitoring visit, CANY representatives conducted 74 interviews with incarcerated people, representing 8% of the facility’s large population, and conducted visual observations across the facility. CANY representatives also met with facility leadership, medical and mental health staff, the Incarcerated Liaison Committee (ILC), and the Incarcerated Grievance Resolution Committee (IGRC).
Key findings include:
Medical and Dental Care: The proportion of respondents at Collins who reported receiving adequate medical care was above average as compared to recently monitored facilities, though incarcerated individuals noted the temporary absence of a physician and delays in responses to sick call requests. At the time of CANY’s monitoring visit, medical staffing at Collins was significantly strained.
Mental Health: While most individuals at Collins reported access to mental health care, a slight majority reported that the care they received was unsatisfactory. Individuals in the Residential Rehabilitation Unit (RRU) and the Special Housing Unit (SHU) generally cited concerns about their mental health.
Program and Recreation: Respondents reported the lowest access to academic and vocational programs when compared to other medium-security prisons recently monitored by CANY. Some individuals cited challenges accessing mandatory programs, and many reported having excess idle time.
Staff-Incarcerated Individual Interactions: Most respondents characterized their interactions with staff as neutral or moderately positive. Reports of abuse and racial discrimination were much lower than at all but one of the other medium-security prisons recently monitored by CANY.
Material Conditions: Many respondents cited problems with conditions in the bathrooms, including mold in the showers, underscoring the need for maintenance and capital improvements within an antiquated physical plant.
“We expect that the consolidation of Collins Correctional Facility will help streamline operations by eliminating service duplications and making better use of limited resources, resulting in better living and working conditions at the facility,” said Jennifer Scaife, Executive Director of the Correctional Association of New York (CANY).
The full report is available here.
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.
