PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Tanya Krupat, Vice President of Policy and Advocacy at Osborne Association, on Contracted Jail Services
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Tanya Krupat from the Osborne Association testified about the impact of eliminating targeted approach jail-based services contracts. She highlighted the importance of these programs and the negative consequences of their loss on inmates, staff, and the overall jail environment.
- Osborne Association lost its contract in June 2023, affecting services to thousands of people in Rikers
- The eliminated services included visiting support, elder services, and transitional planning
- While DOC has issued new RFPs, they do not fully replace the lost contracted services
- Krupat emphasized the role of service providers as partners to the department, helping to improve well-being and prevent dangerous situations
Tanya Krupat
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Sorry.
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Thank you, chair nurse, and members of the Criminal Justice Committee and Committee on Contracts for the opportunity to provide testimony today.
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My name is Tanya Krouppet.
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I'm a vice I'm the vice president of policy and advocacy at the Osborne Association.
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Osborne is one of the largest and oldest criminal justice service organizations in the state, and we provide services on Rikers Island.
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Thank you for focusing on contracted jail services.
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Osborne was among the 5 providers who lost their contracts at the end of June 2023.
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The elimination of the targeted approach jail based services providers, through which 5 community based organizations serve thousands of people in Rikers each year, And this has had a devastating impact for those inside.
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The Target Approach program provided core foundational services across the entire DOC system.
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All of Osborne's services inside DOC jails, including including visiting support services to people at Rose M.
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Singer Center and their children.
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We provided elder services and transitional planning.
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And we continue to provide a very limited amount of services, but even those are affected by the loss of these others.
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The services that were eliminated, we served 1700 people in individual and group sessions, offering more than 12,700 group sessions per year.
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In the interest of time, the benefits of programming are enormous and have ripple effects that benefit officers, families, and communities.
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While DUC currently has 4, RFPs out, these do not replace the contracted services that were eliminated, and there was no notification that these were finally issued 10 months after the funding was announced.
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Providers are also partners to the department, which can improve the well-being of everyone.
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We can work together to catch worrisome signs and address concerns.
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For example, our staff recently headed off an escalating situation with a gentleman at EMTC, who had a previously unknown and serious food allergy, and and then was afraid to eat because of it.
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We were able to contact a program's captain, and he was switched to a special diet.
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We were only able to do this because of the relationships we built.
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Programs are extra eyes and ears to avoid dangerous situations and prevent emergencies
UNKNOWN
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and
Tanya Krupat
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even death.
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We thank you for your focus on this and improving the conditions on Rikers Island.
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Thank you.
Sandy Nurse
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Thank you so much.