CANY Releases Report following Monitoring at Otisville Correctional Facility
January 28, 2026
Contact: media@correctionalassociation.org
Positive Staff-Incarcerated Relations Strained by Persistent Vacancies
Brooklyn, NY — The Correctional Association of New York (CANY) has released a report on Otisville Correctional Facility, a medium-security facility for men 18 years or older in Otisville, New York. The report includes observations and findings from the December 2024 monitoring visit to the prison, conducted as part of CANY’s oversight mandate pursuant to Correction Law §146(3).
CANY representatives conducted a two-day monitoring visit to Otisville Correctional Facility. During the visit, CANY representatives conducted 68 interviews with incarcerated people, representing 12% of the facility’s population, and conducted visual observations across the facility. CANY representatives met with facility leadership, union representatives, medical and mental health staff, the grievance supervisor, the Incarcerated Liaison Committee (ILC), and the Incarcerated Grievance Resolution Committee (IGRC), as well as representatives of incarcerated-led organizations including religious, ethnic, and other affinity groups.
Key findings include:
Staff-Incarcerated Individual Interactions: Reports of abuse and racial abuse at Otisville were lower than at all other medium-security prisons recently visited by CANY, and most respondents characterized their interactions with staff as positive or neutral. The facility’s executive team noted that staffing shortages had led to significant mandatory overtime, impacting morale among staff.
Health Care: The proportion of respondents at Otisville who reported receiving adequate medical care was slightly below average among recently monitored facilities.
Programming & Recreation: The Executive Team at Otisville reported a wide-range of volunteer and peer-based programs available to incarcerated individuals, marking a unique aspect of programming offered at the facility. Some incarcerated individuals nonetheless reported concerns with outdated vocational programs and long wait times for admission to programs. Respondents also reported limited recreation opportunities.[JS1] [SS2]
Material Conditions: A significant number of respondents reported that the conditions in their housing units were inadequate. Many cited problems with plumbing, including toilets, showers, and sinks. CANY documented missing plumbing fixtures and unhygienic conditions in some bathrooms. Respondents also cited other deficiencies, such as insufficient storage space for personal items and nonfunctioning kitchen and laundry appliances.
“Our monitoring visit to the Otisville Correctional Facility documented a respectful staff culture and calm environment despite the significant staffing shortages,” said Jennifer Scaife, Executive Director of the Correctional Association of New York. “While the facility certainly has different aspects it can improve upon, such as improvements to material conditions, its culture stands out among prisons visited by CANY and should be emulated systemwide.”[JS3] [SS4]
The full report is available at:
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.
