NY DJJOY - Brookwood Secure Center

Brookwood Secure Center is located in the Hudson Valley region of New York State, southeast of the City of Hudson.

The youth served at Brookwood 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 up to 21 years of age.

In addition, juvenile delinquents under the jurisdiction of the family court may also be placed at Brookwood if they have been transferred 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: Counseling is provided to each youth based upon his individual needs. 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.
• 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 Program and pursue a Test Assessing Secondary Completion (TASC). Opportunities involving collaboration with several 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: Instructors provide trade skills training in technology, computers, keyboarding, print shop operation, building and grounds maintenance and food service.

Health Services:Comprehensive health services are provided by licensed health professionals, including a physician, physician’s assistant and nurse practitioner. 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’s assistant, nurse practitioner or physician. Health staff initiate or continue needed health services via scheduled follow-up appointments.

A discharge plan is established on release to address the youth's routine and specialized health care needs.

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. Brookwood also has consulting psychiatrists who can provide psychopharmacological treatment.

A specialized Mental Health Unit is designed to provide intensive care for high needs youth. Assessment services include mental health and substance abuse assessment, evaluation of sex offense treatment needs, psycho-educational evaluation and neuropsychological assessment. Treatment services include crisis evaluation and intervention, individual/group/family therapy, mental health treatment planning and mental health discharge planning. Facility clinicians facilitate psychiatric hospitalization, where needed, and are the facility liaisons to the hospital during the youth’s stay.

Recreational Opportunities: The recreation program offers a wide range of activities from movies to several indoor and outdoor recreation areas. The outdoor areas include basketball courts, handball courts and baseball and football fields. The indoor areas include three gyms, an activity room, a fully equipped exercise room, a weight room and leisure activities on the living units. Youth participate in intramural sports activities throughout the year with the competition based on the season.

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. Currently Muslim, Christian and Jehovah Witness services are being offered.

Special Programs and Community Partnerships: The facility has a 25-bed certified Discrete Substance Abuse Program to provide services for the treatment of this special need population. The Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services certifies the program. Admission criteria are dependent on, but not limited to, a DSM-IV diagnosis for substance abuse. This is a five to eight month program that uses a cognitive-behavioral model of treatment with focus on restructuring thinking patterns that lead to unhealthy feelings and the subsequent negative (criminal and substance abusing) behaviors. Psycho-educational and psychotherapeutic interventions in the areas of drug education, relapse prevention, empathy, self-concept and anger management will be among the topics covered with the aim at lowering the risk of continued drug use and the concomitant criminality upon release.

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