STATE OF NEW YORK 
EXECUTIVE CHAMBER 
Proclamation

Whereas, the employees of the New York State Department of Correctional Services are a critical component of this State’s law enforcement community, as they contribute to overall public safety by keeping our prisons secure and by ensuring that New York’s correctional system remains one of the safest in the United States; and

Whereas, Department employees work cooperatively, every day, with employees of the Division of Parole and the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, religious and community organizations, representatives of local governments and inmate families to assist in the successful reintegration into society of the approximately 27,000 inmates who are released from the Department’s custody each year; the ultimate goal of these dedicated employees is to enhance an individual’s ability to return to society as law-abiding, productive citizens, through an expanding array of re-entry initiatives that include specialized re-entry units in various parts of the State; and

Whereas, the citizens of New York appreciate the professionalism and dedication of Department employees who maintain high standards as they work under difficult conditions and during a time of necessary consolidation; and

Whereas, the Department’s staff, working with staff from the Office of Mental Health, cares for an increasing number of offenders who enter the correctional system requiring mental health services and assists in the placement of those individuals in new treatment regimens and alternative residential housing; staff also provide nutritious and low-cost food products to county governments for use in local jails, helping to reduce the local property tax burden; and

Whereas, Department employees serve in more than 300 different job capacities and fill a variety of positions requiring various degrees of expertise, specialized training, and education levels, and they provide a vastly diverse set of services on behalf of the people of the State of New York; and

Whereas, this year, the Department will award two Medals of Merit to distinguished employees in light of the many perils faced by these courageous individuals every day while serving the people of New York State, while also honoring the memory of the 35 Department employees who over the years have given their lives in the line of duty as a result of inmate actions, and as the tenth annual ceremony takes place at the DOCS memorial on the grounds of the Albany Training Academy, it is appropriate that the citizens of this State remember and commend all correctional employees for performing such dangerous and challenging tasks every day;

Now, Therefore, I, David A. Paterson, Governor of the State of New York, hereby proclaim May 31-June 6, 2009 as

CORRECTIONAL SERVICES EMPLOYEE WEEK

in the Empire State.

G i v e n under my hand and the Privy Seal of the State at the Capitol in the City of Albany this twelfth day of May in the year two thousand nine.

 

David A. Paterson
Governor

Lawrence Schwartz
Secretary to the Governor