Hour Children Family Services Programs

07/05/2023

Summer Program 2023

Dear Friends,

Thank you for expressing an interest in Hosting a child and/or children for our upcoming Summer Program. Host Families provide a much-needed place for children to spend the night when they come to visit their mothers and participate in The Children's Center Programs at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility.

Since 1980, The Children's Center has sponsored The Summer Program. Modeled after a summer camp, The Summer Program provides mothers and children with the opportunity for quality time, mother-child bonding, and fun-filled activities. We bring children from all over New York State, as well as out-of-state, to visit their mothers for 5 consecutive days. We run these programs from late June until mid-August. Each program begins on a Sunday and ends on a Thursday. The children visit with their mothers from 9am to 3pm daily. Host Families are asked to drop off the children by 8:50am and pick the children up at 3pm each day.

It means so much to both the mothers and children we serve to have this opportunity to spend quality time together. For many children, this is the only occasion all year that they visit their mothers. Equally rewarding for the children is staying with a Host Family, spending time together and getting to know each other.

Your kindness and hospitality help us to strengthen the bond between a child and his/her incarcerated mother. We are forever grateful for your support as we work together to create positive and lasting memories for the mothers and their children.

I have attached the Host Family registration paperwork to begin the process. Please fill it out and return it to me as soon as possible.

*Only if you are a new Host Family*: you will also need to fill out the attached Athena Background Check form and return it via the encrypted email address: [email protected] which is also printed on the registration form. Please send the Personal Background check to Athena as soon as possible so we are able to match you. Once the background check is cleared, I will send you an email.

Please let us know if you have any questions or if we can provide further information. Looking forward to seeing everyone this summer!

Sincerely,

Deb Rigano
Senior Director of Justice Initiatives
914.241.3100 X4050 (Office)

04/08/2023

08/01/2021

CLARINDA, Ia. — On a hot day in July, Darrell, who is serving time at the Clarinda Correctional Facility, pulled a black carrot out of the ground from one of the prison’s three large gardens. He stared at the carrot in amazement and laughed. “Wow! Look at that,” Darrell said. “Never in lif...

07/27/2021

NYS DOCCS Directive on resuming visits under COVID protocols to date:

12/29/2020

NYS DOCCS Notice Regarding Statewide Visitation

Unfortunately, as a result of the significant increase in COVID-19 infections among the incarcerated population...visitation will be temporarily suspended statewide, effective Wednesday, December 30, 2020, at 3:00 p.m.

The Department continues to work with our phone and tablet vendor as previously announced to ensure continued access to some free calls and secure messages each week.

The Department will also make (5) free stamps available to the population for general correspondence.

11/05/2020

NYS DOCCS UPDATE - Effective Wednesday, November 4, all travelers from out of state must follow the NYS guidelines prior to visiting an individual in a DOCCS correctional facility.

Governor Cuomo announces new guidelines allowing out-of-state travelers to New York to "test out" of the mandatory 14-day quarantine.

11/02/2020

NYS DOCCS Additional Phone and Tablet Services
Effective October 29, 2020
The Department continues with our phone and tablet vendor to provide continued access to some combination of free calls and secure messages each week.

As a result of these discussions, the following free services will be extended through November 30, 2020:

Phone Calls - Each incarcerated individual will receive two (2) free calls per week up to 15 minutes per call. Free calls are available beginning at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday and are associated with the first two calls made during each week and do not carry forward from week to week. Individuals serving a disciplinary confinement sanction will be provided access to the phone as per policy;

Secure Message Stamps - Each incarcerated individual with access to a general confinement tablet and kiosk will continue to receive two (2) free stamps to use for secure messaging per week (this is not available to individuals serving a disciplinary confinement sanction). Stamps are added to the account on Friday afternoon and do not accumulate and replenish on a weekly basis based on use;

Free Pre-paid Reply Wednesdays - Every secure message sent by a friend or family member on Wednesday will be accompanied with a free pre-paid stamp that will allow the incarcerated individual to reply to the sender through Wednesday, November 25, 2020; and
Newsstand application - There is no change for this access. The previously enacted free one-month subscription to the Newsstand application has been extended for an additional month. The user must update their tablet to receive the Newsstand app and subscribe to the service before they can download updates. Updates will be available daily via the kiosk.

Other facility guidelines implemented:

UPDATE - Effective October 30, 2020 at 3:00pm, due to the emergence of micro-clusters in different areas of the state and upticks in several facilities, we will modify our procedures to no longer allow for a brief embrace at the beginning and end of a visit.

We recognize that visitation is a vital part of family reunification, however, we must also protect the safety and wellbeing of those that work and live in our correctional facilities. Your patience and understanding are appreciated.

10/13/2020

October NY Initiative for Children of Incarcerated Parents campaign partner Advocates for Children of New York

NYCIP Partner Hour Children, Inc. assists with engaging incarcerated mothers who are placed at the Bedford Hills and Taconic Correctional Facilities in NYS.

10/05/2020

Additional Phone and Tablet Services

Effective October 1, 2020
The Department continues with our phone and tablet vendor to provide continued access to some combination of free calls and secure messages each week.

As a result of these discussions, the following free services will be extended through November 1, 2020:

Phone Calls - Each incarcerated individual will receive two (2) free calls per week up to fifteen-minutes per call. Free calls are available beginning at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday and are associated with the first two calls made during each week and do not carry forward from week to week. Individuals serving a disciplinary confinement sanction will be provided access to the phone as per policy;
Secure Message Stamps - Each incarcerated individual with access to a general confinement tablet and kiosk will continue to receive two (2) free stamps to use for secure messaging per week. (This is not available to individuals serving a disciplinary confinement sanction) Stamps are added to your account on Friday afternoon and do not accumulate and replenish on a weekly basis based on use;

Free Pre-paid Reply Wednesdays - Every secure message sent by a friend or family member on Wednesday will be accompanied with a free pre-paid stamp that will allow the incarcerated individual to reply to the sender through Wednesday, October 28, 2020;

Newsstand application - There is no change for this access. The previously enacted free one-month subscription to the Newsstand application has been extended for an additional month.