Dutchess County Jail offers many programs used to prepare incarcerated individuals for their return into the community. These programs are provided with the hope of addressing personal problems, encouraging change and reducing recidivism.
A division of the Dutchess County Sheriff's Office
A.A. is a twelve (12) step program for those recovering from alcoholism. Facilitators use the twelve (12) steps and the twelve (12) traditions of A.A. These are principles by which A.A. members recover from their addiction. This service is provided by civilian volunteers.
This group is intended for women who are interested in biblical and spiritual growth. They take time for praise, worship, devotion, and reflection. The goal of the group is to lead, encourage, and direct women who are coming out of adverse environments, guiding them to a better quality of life. This group is conducted by civilian volunteers.
There is a weekly group for men and women separately. The participants are given writing prompts both in class and to work on during the week. Participants share their writing and receive constructive feedback from the group and the facilitator. The goals of the groups are to increase the participants' ability to express themselves appropriately in writing, enhance their language and critical thinking skills, and explore the life issues that come up in the writing process. This service is provided by civilian volunteers.
This group is run by Family Services Inc. and is a twenty-six (26) session program for men who have used some form of violence in their intimate relationships. Often times, this group is court ordered. Participants who are released before completion of the program may have their sessions counted as long as they register with Family Services for classes within two (2) weeks of their release.
This is a weekly women’s group that covers a wide variety of re-entry topics. The facilitator works for the Department of Behavioral & Community Health. She also offers one-on-one sessions for discharge planning.
Dutchess County Community College Education program provides Test Assessing Secondary Completion (TASC) preparation, test administration and academic assessment. The ultimate goal is for each participate to earn his/her High School Equivalency (HSE) Diploma.
Designed to address gaps in inmates’ employment readiness, the group focuses on assessing employment history, creating a resume for each participant and practicing interviewing skills. This is a four (4) week session and at the end of the session, participants receive a copy of their resume to use upon their release. This group is taught by civilian volunteers.
This service is provided by clergy and civilian volunteers. Currently there are Bible Study programs for Jehovah’s Witness, Protestant and Christian teachings. Attendance is done on a voluntary basis. The groups are open to men and women.
Muslim instruction is open to both men and women who are looking to increase their knowledge of Muslim teachings. Participants are taught about the practices and beliefs of the Muslim faith. The instruction is led by a volunteer Imam (Spiritual leader).
N.A. is a twelve (12) step program for those recovering from drug addiction. The program is group-oriented, and is based on the twelve (12) steps and the twelve (12) traditions, adapted from Alcoholics Anonymous. This service is performed by civilian volunteers
Staff of The Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse provides parenting education using the Nurturing Parenting curriculum. Classes are offered weekly in ten (10) session cycles. Individuals are often court ordered to attend parenting. Participation in parenting classes can be credited post release so that individuals may continue obtaining their required classes.
This group is run by Family Services Inc. and is for women who act out aggressively in family and personal relationships. PEACE provides tools, guidance and support for making positive changes to benefit self, family, and others.
We offer Islamic, Protestant, Jewish and Catholic services to inmates of those denominations. These services are performed by local clergy.
The R.E.S.T.A.R.T. program is a structured and systematic process to reintegrate inmates into the community. The examples of groups that are conducted are: Substance abuse, Anger Management, MRT, and other groups to be announced as they are developed.
Read an in-depth description in the R.E.S.T.A.R.T. program (.pdf)
Volunteers from St. Mary’s church come in weekly and alternate men/women to make their own Rosaries. The volunteers also teach the importance of, and how to pray the Rosary.
The story book project helps incarcerated parents to maintain a connection with their children by allowing the parent to read an age appropriate book onto a CD. The book and the CD are then sent to the child. This service is provided by civilian volunteers. Equally important, it helps improve the literacy skills of the parents and children participating in the program.
A basic course that educates participants on life’s challenges and teaches them how to deal with these challenges appropriately. They learn to evaluate their way of thinking and decision making skills. This is a six (6) - eight (8) week program and it is offered by trained civilian volunteers.
Skills / Trauma is a six (6) week group that includes skill development and psycho- education for managing the effects of psychological trauma. It is not a processing group. Instead, the goal will be to develop self-management skills that will help when they do deal with the content. This service is provided by trained civilian volunteer.
The Walter Hoving Home is a program for women who struggle with drug and alcohol abuse. Once a month, personnel from the Home come into the facility and have a group with the women who are interested in going to the Home. The group also covers personal experiences from staff at the Home because most staff are recovering from their struggle with drugs/alcohol.
Men and women who qualify are offered an opportunity to performing manual labor tasks in areas such as sewing, laundry services, kitchen support skills, outside landscaping, snow removal, maintenance, jail cleaning, floor maintenance and sanitation. This work opportunity can help teach individuals basic work ethics, professionalism, and a new skill. Various tasks are supervised by assigned officers.
