NY DJJOY - Goshen Secure Center

Goshen Secure Center is located approximately 50 miles northwest of New York City in Orange County, New York.

Youth are in living units on four wings off a centralized building that also contains academic classrooms, vocational shops, health services, dining room and kitchen, chapel, commissary, gym and indoor recreational area. Football, soccer and baseball fields, as well as a basketball and handball court, are also on the campus.

The youth served at Goshen are male, juvenile offenders who while under the age of 16 committed certain violent felonies and were convicted and sentenced in adult criminal court. Depending upon the sentence, youth may remain in OCFS custody until the age of 21.

Juvenile delinquents under the jurisdiction of the Family Court may also be placed at Goshen if they have been reassigned or "fennered" from a limited secure facility for violent behavior. Juvenile delinquents may remain in OCFS custody up to the age of 18 depending on their placement order.

Services:

Counseling: Youth Counselors, mentors and therapists conduct weekly individual counseling sessions with each youth. Group counseling is conducted daily. Treatment teams meet monthly to develop plans and review progress of each youth, focusing treatment on identified areas of need. Individualized counseling addresses interpersonal relationships, independent living, social skills, non-violent alternatives, issues related to trauma, victim awareness and substance abuse issues. Counseling programs available to all youth include the following:

• Aggression Replacement Training (ART) is an educational group focusing on the thoughts and feelings that lead to aggressive behavior. This group is designed to teach youth how to better handle their aggressive impulses through its role-playing modality and the way in which the learning of skills progresses from simple to complex.
• Victim Awareness Training allows youth to examine the psychological, social and financial impact on their victims and other implications of having been victimized. This curriculum encourages youth to empathize with their victim’s thoughts and feelings and it addresses the youth’s understanding of antisocial behavior and its consequences.
• The Independent Living Skills program is comprised of several modules. These include Employment, Housing and Home Management, Relationships, Parenting, Health, Leisure and Media Literacy, Money Management, Cultural Awareness, Transportation, Law and Related Education.
• Innervisions for Youth is a comprehensive prevention program targeting alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. This curriculum tests the youth’s knowledge of substance abuse and the effects on themselves, relationships and others.
• Substance Education is provided concerning the role substances play in an individual’s life, as well as the physical, social and legal implications of substance use, abuse and addiction. Those youth who are identified with special needs regarding their substance abuse issues are selected for treatment that includes specialized individual and group counseling and education.
  

Education: The facility provides educational programming for youth according to New York State Education Department requirements. The Committee on Special Education (CSE) addresses special education needs for classified students and Individual Education Programs (IEPs) are developed for students with disabilities. State assessments, including Regents Examinations and Regents Competency Tests, are also provided to eligible students. Qualifying youth may also enroll in the Alternative High School Education Programs and pursue a Test Assessing Secondary Completion (TASC). Opportunities involving collaboration with several local community colleges may permit students to take some college coursework.

Academic and vocational courses are offered so students can earn credits which can be applied toward a high school diploma upon a student’s return to a community school. Students also complete a “portfolio,” which provides a summary of relevant documentation, outlines work history, any certifications earned, and experiences gained.

Vocational Opportunities: A wide variety of vocational courses are available for youth, including:

• An On-The-Job Training program is a job readiness program that allows designated youth the opportunity to practice the skills that they learn in their vocational classes. The program provides mentoring and job training, enabling youth to gain valuable work experience while earning a small stipend. Youth earn a certificate for their portfolio.
• The C-Tech class is an introduction to electronic communication wiring from simple electrical circuits to modern day fiber optics. It has five components taken one at a time, alternating between reading assignments and hands-on assignments. This class is good preparation for entry level technician jobs with phone and cable companies.
• The Scan Tech class is a computer-driven, self-directed computer repair program. Youth learn the inner workings of a computer, the components and trouble shooting. The students work at an individual pace, going through a series of lessons designed to orient them to the mechanics of computers. Students who show promise go on to repair a real computer.
• National Work Readiness Credentials is a job readiness class offered periodically throughout the year. Students are taught how to read business memos, inventory receipts, letters and other correspondence; business math, including basic math computations and how to do mark-ups, mark downs and percentages. Another component of the course is situational judgment, where youth are put in various scenarios and are expected to respond appropriately and utilize active listening skills.
• Cleaning Management Institute(CMI) presents students with study and hands-on practice in the chemistry of cleaning. Youth learn to clean various floor surfaces and restrooms. Youth that pass the course earn certification as an CMI Custodial Technician.
• Careers & Financial Management is a course that is offered for youth to learn to write resumes and cover letters, practice interviewing, and learn budgeting and basic finances.

Health Services: Comprehensive health services are provided by a licensed physician. Registered nurses are on duty during day and evening shifts seven days a week.

Upon admission, each youth has a comprehensive health assessment and an initial plan of care is developed. Immunizations are brought up to date following current public health recommendations. Eye and dental services are also provided on site.

Nursing sick call occurs daily. Nurses refer health problems that cannot be addressed via routine nursing interventions to the physician. Health staff initiate or continue needed health services via scheduled follow-up appointments.

Mental Health: Mental health treatment is delivered by psychologists, licensed social workers or clinical nurses. Access to professional level care is available for all youth. Clinical personnel work directly for OCFS, are engaged through contractual arrangements or are deployed into facilities as Mobile Mental Health staff from the Office of Mental Health children’s hospitals. Goshen also has consulting psychiatrists who can provide psychopharmacological treatment. Clinicians facilitate psychiatric hospitalization, where needed, and are the facility liaisons to the hospital during the youth's stay.

Recreational: The recreation program offers a wide range of indoor and outdoor recreational activities designed to expose youth to diversified leisure time pursuits.

Religious Services: The religious program is a voluntary program that offers youth the opportunity to worship their faith. The services offered are based on the needs of the youth.

Special Programs: Harmful Sexualized Behavior Treatment - Goshen operates OCFS’s only secure level, discrete unit, that provides this type of specialized treatment services to youth. The unit has capacity to serve 18 youth. Group, individual and, when possible, family counseling address each youth’s treatment needs to reduce the risk of reoffending. Each youth has a personal community safety plan established prior to discharge.

Substance Abuse Treatment - Goshen currently has one social worker who provides weekly substance abuse group and individual sessions for youth with identified need.

Community Involvement: A group of community volunteers meet quarterly to address administrative or program issues, community relations, fund raising and special projects.

Pre-Release Orientation: Release planning begins at intake. The facility support team members work closely with residents, parents and community service team) members to ensure that residents and their families receive the support needed for a timely and successful return to the community.