Osborne's Year in Review

Osborne’s impact and achievements on behalf of the people we serve are far too broad to summarize in a single message. Still, as we begin a new year with a renewed sense of purpose, we share this set of accomplishments to celebrate the ways our work is making a difference for people impacted by the criminal legal system and their families.

Here are some of our successes from 2022:

Court Advocacy Services’ mitigation services and advocacy reduced incarceration for its participants by 940 years between January and November. CAS’s parole mitigation team also assisted in getting 47 people who were detained in DOC custody safely restored to parole supervision in the community.

Osborne expanded our services for children of incarcerated parents with the launch of our YES! Newburgh program, graduating an inaugural cohort of 17 youth ages 13-18. Ten of those graduates will continue as part of the Youth Ambassador Program and 19 youth joined the second cohort of YES! Newburgh.

Osborne reopened our Family Centers in eight New York State prisons in October for the first time in two and a half years. Family Centers provide a child-friendly visiting environment, keeping children connected to their incarcerated parents.

The Buffalo Early Release program served 76 people returning to the community from incarceration, providing case management, transportation passes, and dignity kits to aid their reentry.

El Rio continued providing in-person and telehealth substance use treatment services to people impacted by the criminal legal system and expanded our peer services with the addition of a Certified Recovery Peer Advocate to provide critical support to participants.

Osborne’s ReentryWorks program (which launched in late spring of FY22), aimed at providing 1,000 people in NYS prisons with transitional planning and reentry services, became operational in 24 NYS prisons.

We completed a Longtermers’ Responsibility Project group at Ulster Correctional Facility (DOCCS), which was interrupted by the COVID-19 lockdown. Six of the eight original participants completed the program, nearly two years after they started. Longtermers has yielded a parole release rate of 95% for its participants, compared to an approximately 40% release rate for the general population. Two of these participants were released and received ReentryWorks transitional plans and community support. Several participants reported that Coming to Terms was the most meaningful program they’d ever taken in prison.

Ninety-four families have enrolled in Osborne’s Kinship Reentry Housing program in the past year. They receive counseling and case management, peer support, and financial assistance as they house and support their returning loved ones. This innovative, first-of-its-kind program leverages existing housing (families’ homes) to fill a gap in reentry housing, ensuring stability for people returning from incarceration. Kinship also invests in the stability of the family, a protective factor in keeping people home post-release.

Our West Harlem Restoration and Reentry program has launched a collaboration with Grants Housing Tenants Association to develop an innovative “Restorative Justice Theater” curriculum, teaching restorative justice principles through the performance arts. Restorative justice is an approach to understanding and responding to harm centered on accountability, repair, and healing. Our efforts in West Harlem are focused on individual and community healing from generations of conflict and violence among individuals and groups, who are also neighbors seeking to heal and improve their community.

This year, 349 people received job placement support from Osborne’s Workforce Development program. When placed by an Osborne employer specialist, the average starting hourly wage was $19.17, nearly 28% above minimum wage.

Osborne opened the Marcus Garvey Supportive Housing program, providing 52 permanent supportive housing apartments to elders returning from incarceration. All 52 units are now occupied!

The Osborne Center for Justice Across Generations trained 1,541 diverse stakeholders, including law enforcement, school social workers, and aging and reentry providers, to better understand and meet the needs of children, families, and older people affected by arrest and incarceration.

We’re excited about the year ahead and look forward to continuing our work to transform the criminal legal system.