Suffolk County            Sheriff's Office

Special Programs for County Inmates

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The Suffolk County Correctional Facility is well known for its rehabilitation programming.  Under Sheriff Toulon's leadership, the jail has become a place where the word corrections means more than just providing secure housing, it's a place where people have opportunities to rebuild their lives, change their thinking, and obtain support.  Correctional Counselors are on staff to meet with inmates during their first week at the jail.  During these meetings, Correctional Counselors survey an inmate's needs and discuss future goals.  Based on these initial discussions, inmates are enrolled in services and programs that will aid in their rehabilitation.  

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Rehabilitation takes many forms.  In some cases, county inmates are placed in special programmatic housing areas listed below.  In other cases, they will have opportunities to enroll in vocational training, work programs, and attend meeting with groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and many others.  Programs like Council for Unity address gang-related issues, the Long Island Council for Drug and Alcoholism works with those addicted to a range of substances, and the Fatherhood Initiative provides classes in parenting and reconnecting with family.  

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Upon entry to the Suffolk County Correctional Facility, inmates will be encouraged to participate in programs, and engage in re-entry counseling, which starts inside the jail and doesn't even end upon release.  Our S.T.A.R.T. Resource Center on the grounds of the Yaphank Jail is a place where former inmates can receive ongoing assistance from the time they are released. 

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Programmatic Housing Areas

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Choose Your Path is a programmatic housing area for incarcerated young adults between the ages of 18-25.  It offers youth a robust selection of vocational training, schooling, counseling, pre-release and post-release transitional services, and mental health support.  All of the inmates work a 40-hour work week doing a combination of programs and work assignments inside the jail. Correction Officers assigned to Choose Your Path received special training to work with young adults and a Correctional Counselor oversees the program. 

 

Choose to Thrive is a programmatic housing area for female inmates at the Suffolk County Correctional Facility. The program features a variety of supportive services, mental health services, vocational training, parenting and family reunification, and frequent visits from outside agencies that specialize in transitioning women from incarceration to the community.  The initiative is overseen by a Correctional Counselor. 

 

The Sheriff’s Addiction Treatment Program (SATP) is an intensive substance abuse treatment initiative designed for incarcerated individuals with a range of criminal charges, all of which correlate to their substance use disorders. Participants in the program can either be sentenced or un-sentenced, but in either case, they must have a minimum of thirty days left in-custody to enter the program. Length of stay in the program varies, but it is guided largely by the individual’s progress.  The program is designed around three basic educational phases. The SATP is staffed with Social Workers and Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselors (CASACs) who provide both group and individual treatment sessions. Correction Officers are specifically dedicated to the treatment dorms and these officers are part of the treatment team.