Closings, cuts announced for eight state facilities for troubled youths


By SHERRY HALBROOK “How can we give up on the children


who most need our help?” That question was on the minds of


many PEF members when they learned more troubled youths will be staying in local communities and programs, whether it’s the most effective and safest way to help them become responsible adults, or not. The state Office of Children and Family


Services (OCFS) quietly announced June 8 it would close or reduce eight juvenile facilities. The announcements started the clock on a 60-day notice requirement, so closings may begin as early as mid-August. The measure is ostensibly to cut costs,


but includes no apparent plan to address the needs of New York’s youths who break the law or are deemed by the courts to need more rigorous supervision. It’s just one more obstacle for


beleaguered PEF members at OCFS to overcome in their efforts to help these youngsters who seem increasingly abandoned by the state. OCFS Commissioner Gladys Carrion


has systematically emptied state juvenile facilities for the past several years, going as far as meeting with family court judges and urging them not to send youths to state facilities. “The public should be aware more than


half of the youths in state juvenile facilities have special education needs and 67 percent have serious mental health needs,” said PEF President Ken Brynien. Many of the youths have committed


very serious crimes. “This plan to close facilities might save


tax dollars, but it does nothing to address concerns for public safety or for the services needed for these troubled youths,” Brynien said. The eight facilities are: • Tryon Girls Center (reception, secure


and limited-secure units) in Johnstown, Fulton County, is closing; • Youth Leadership Academy in South


Kortright, Delaware County, is losing 20 beds; • Allen Residential Center, which also is


in South Kortright, is closing; • Finger Lakes Residential Center in


Lansing, Tompkins County, is losing 26 beds; • Harriet Tubman Residential Center in


Auburn, Cayuga County, is closing; • Highland Residential Center, Ulster


County, is losing 80 beds; • Industry Limited Secure Center in


Rush, Monroe County, is losing 40 beds; and • Industry Secure Center, which also is


in Rush, is closing. “Commissioner Carrion’s policies have


failed,” Brynien said. “She has single- handedly created an environment in which troubled youths who have committed serious crimes have the upper hand. “Our members have been assaulted by youths on a regular basis. Instead of focusing on closing facilities, Carrion should be changing a failed system and committing the mental health and educational services these youths need to turn their lives around,” he said. Brynien was a member of the task force


appointed by Gov. David Paterson in 2009 to review deteriorating conditions at OCFS. (See related story on page 9).


HRPC members protest loss of jobs, mental health services “HRPC is the only facility for the mentally ill in the mid-Hudson


Story and photos by SHERRY HALBROOK Hundreds of PEF and other union members rallied at rush


hour June 9 outside of the Hudson River Psychiatric Center (HRPC) in Poughkeepsie to protest the state’s plans to close the center this fall, and the resulting loss of mental health services. Many passing motorists honked their


horns in support of the demonstrators, who lined up along a busy street near a shopping mall, whistled and chanted, and held up signs. The protestors held their ground for more than an hour under ominous clouds until a violent storm broke and sent everyone scurrying for safety. “In closing the Hudson River Psychiatric


Center and some of its community-based services, the state Office of Mental Health (OMH) is abrogating its responsibility to meet the needs of mentally ill people in this community,” PEF Vice President Pat Baker told reporters and the demonstrators. Baker is PEF chair of the joint labor-management committee at OMH.


Page 8—The Communicator July-August 2011


Valley area,” said PEF Region 9 Coordinator Vivian Street. “Any change in its services will put a hardship on the people who rely on its clinics, inpatient and emergency services. “It also will be a hardship for the people who work here,” Street said. “They don’t even know where they will be working when the facility closes. Having services in the community where we live, or in close proximity, helps our entire community as well as the people receiving the services.” Dutchess County Legislator Joel Tyner,


Civil Service Employees Association President Danny Donohue and others also spoke against the loss of services and local jobs. Some jobs and services now at HRPC will


be administered by Rockland PC in Orangeburg. However, managers have given employees and PEF few details about the transition.


BAKER STREET PEF Information Line: 1-800-553-2445


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