Embedded Files
Education
Education
Many people are interested in pursuing an education while incarcerated. Along with using the Education chapter in Connections, below are resources to help answer specific questions.
College Correspondence Programs
An article published by the Huffington Post listing 5 college correspondence programs for incarcerated individuals. Additional profiles of college correspondence programs, including graduate programs, have been compiled here.
National Directory of Higher Education in Prison
Offers a comprehensive directory of higher education programs in prison, originally compiled by the Prison Studies Project at Harvard University, and now hosted by the Alliance for Higher Education in Prison.
The Brooklyn Public Library’s College & Financial Aid Resources
Contains books and e-resources available at Brooklyn Public Library, as well as a comprehensive list of websites with information on how to navigate the financial aid process.
Ithaka S+R's Pell Grant Information webpage
A resource page about Pell restoration for people who are incarcerated. Provides helpful resources, including a FAQ sheet designed to be given to individuals who are incarcerated by Open Campus called What’s the Deal with Pell in Prisons?.
Federal Student Aid Prison Education Programs website
Provides information, fact sheets, and the FAFSA form for Incarcerated Students in English and Spanish.
US Department of Education's Prison Education Programs Questions and Answers
Provides basic FAQs about prison education programs and Pell Grants for currently incarcerated people.
Employment
Employment
People frequently ask for advice on obtaining employment. This is addressed in the Job Search chapter in Connections, but below are other resources that also touch on this subject.
Getting to Work With a Criminal Record: New York State License Guide
A useful guide explaining the process for obtaining licenses in 25 high demand occupations and professions, published by The Institute for Justice and Opportunity at John Jay College.
Established by the Legal Action Center, functions as both an aggregate of resources for formerly incarcerated individuals and as an advocacy program. The Clearinghouse provides state-specific governmental agencies and community-based organizations that may assist people with criminal records, as well as practitioners, researchers, and policy makers who seek information about laws, policies, or procedures that impact community reentry.
The Legal Action Center’s Fair Hiring and Employment Resources
Provides a large amount of important resources for those seeking employment. Publications, training materials, sample forms, and advocacy toolkits are available. Information on how to protect oneself from discrimination is available, along with resources dedicated to overcoming employment barriers for people with criminal records.
NYS Civil Service Exam Information
Provides resources including civil service examination announcements, featured programs, and information regarding current job vacancies.
The Brooklyn Public Library’s Career Help
Provides information on what services BPL’s Business & Career Center offers along with resource guides.
The National Inventory of Collateral Consequences of Convictions
An online inventory and searchable database to look up legal and regulatory sanctions and restrictions that limit or prohibit people with criminal records from accessing employment, occupational licensing, housing, voting, education, and other opportunities. Searchable by keyword, jurisdiction (all 50 states, the federal system, and the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands ), and consequence type.
Truck Driving with a Conviction
An article from alltrucking.com about how to get a CDL with a felony conviction. (Note: The link is to an archived version of the article.)
Health Care & Other Benefits
Health Care & Other Benefits
People often write in asking about health care and other benefits. Below are helpful resources. Additional information regarding Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefits can be found in the template response for “Social Security and Benefits” on our Template/Stock Answers page. Also, the Connections chapter on Physical & Mental Health includes advocacy groups that may provide further assistance.
Your Rights as a Hospital Patient in New York State
A guide published by the New York State Department of Health containing useful information about how to receive adequate medical care. Page 5 of the PDF explains how to submit a formal complaint to the state about negligent or fraudulent care. Also includes a Patient's Bill of Rights on page 15. The document is available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Korean, and Creole.
New York State Department of Health's Rules, Regulations, & Laws webpage
The webpage provides information on laws and regulations, as well as the forms needed to initiate formal complaints (such as the Discrimination Complaint Form or the ADA Complaint Form).
Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual (JLM)
The JLM addresses incarcerated people's rights to adequate medical care and how to handle negligence and malpractice within the prison system in Chapter 23: Your Right to Adequate Medical Care and Chapter 15: Inmate Grievance Procedures. Chapter 23 specifically notes that, before considering a malpractice suit, it is best to follow the prison's administrative grievance procedures.
A nonprofit that is dedicated to protecting the health rights of low-income individuals.
Incarcerated People's Rights
Incarcerated People's Rights
Connections contains legal resources for currently and formerly incarcerated people. Other helpful information can be found from the following sources.
Provides updated information on current issues and legal developments. Also maintains a Know Your Rights webpage for people currently incarcerated, outlining different scenarios and further resources.
Provides information and resources for New Yorkers about various legal matters such as immigration, eviction, family law, consumer rights, what to do if you are stopped by the police, and more. Incarcerated people can also contact their Prisoners’ Rights Project with complaints about their treatment in New York facilities (Telephone: 212.577.3530).
Prison Activist Resource Center’s Resource Page
The Prison Activist Resource Center (PARC) is an activist group and maintains a list of resources for incarcerated individuals and their loved ones.
The JLM is written and maintained by the Columbia Human Rights Law Review. It contains 41 chapters of information about challenging convictions or sentences, what people's rights are while they are in prison, and different ways to obtain an early release from prison. Sections V, VI, and VII deal specifically with prison conditions.
The Jailhouse Lawyer's Handbook
Published by the Center for Constitutional Rights, the Jailhouse Lawyer's Handbook is a free resource for people in prison who wish to file a federal lawsuit addressing poor conditions in prison or abuse by prison staff to incarcerated people and their families. It also contains limited general information about the United States legal system.
Legal Information
Legal Information
Jail & Prison Services cannot provide legal advice, but we regularly receive letters from people asking for such. The following is a list of helpful resources, along with contact information to useful organizations.
A handbook of legal rights and procedures designed for use by people in prison published by the Columbia University Human Rights Law Review. It includes chapters on how to find a lawyer, how to follow grievance procedures in prison, and more. Chapter 14, in particular, goes over the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), which is important for someone who is currently incarcerated to be aware of before filing a lawsuit. A free version is available online.
ACLU’s Prison Litigation Reform Act Fact Sheet
The ACLU’s fact sheet is also a very helpful resource, breaking down the PLRA in a clear and understandable way.
The website includes links to free legal resources for those who are low-income, searchable by state. This can be especially helpful when we receive letters from incarcerated people in other state prison systems.
A nonprofit organization that provides free legal information and advice about New York State family law and Family Court, including issues of child support, custody, and visitation. The website provides multilingual legal resource guides on topics including child support, custody, visitation, service, how to start a court case, and more. Does not provide full legal representation. Accepts collect calls and requests for information by mail from incarcerated parents.
Prisoners' Legal Services of New York (PLSNY)
A non-profit organization that provides provides free civil legal services to incarcerated people in NYS DOCCS prisons, with regional offices in Albany, Buffalo, Ithaca, and Newburgh. Handles cases involving mental health and medical care, discrimination, prison disciplinary matters, excessive use of force, conditions of confinement, sentence calculation, jail time credit, immigration, and clemency appeals. Please note that they do not handle criminal cases or appeals.
Legal Aid has Criminal, Civil, Juvenile, and Pro Bono practices. Offers free legal counsel and advice to NYC residents who cannot afford a private lawyer. Contact information by borough and practice can be found here.
Legal Aid Society Headquarters
199 Water Street, New York, NY 10038
Telephone: 212.577.3300
Provides free legal services for people living in New York who have had interactions with the criminal legal system, have drug or alcohol addiction or other substance use disorders, and/or are living with HIV or AIDS. The Legal Help page outlines exactly what services are provided and can be used to determine whether or not they would be a good referral for an incarcerated individual.
New York Office
225 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014
Telephone: 212.243.1313
Washington DC Office
810 1st Street, NE, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20002
Telephone: 202.544.5478
DNA in Court Cases
DNA in Court Cases
An excellent source of information for requests for cases in which DNA evidence was used to exonerate the wrongfully convicted. They have also compiled a more comprehensive list of Research Resources relevant to this topic.
Self Representation, ie. Pro Se
Self Representation, ie. Pro Se
We also get questions about how to represent oneself in court, i.e. pro se. We cannot offer any advice on pro se litigation, however, there are many resources available that we can provide to people.
United States District Court, Southern District of New York
Maintains a website with instructions for pro se litigants, with a disclaimer that the information provided is not a substitute for an attorney's advice. Information on what it means to represent pro se, which forms to use, how to submit them, and more is available.
United States District Court of the Southern District of New York – Pro Se Intake Unit
Daniel Patrick Moynihan, United States Courthouse
500 Pearl Street, Room 230, New York, New York 10007
Federal Pro Se Legal Assistance Project run by the City Bar Justice Center
Provides free, limited-scope legal services to pro se litigants (plaintiffs or defendants) with cases in the US District Courts for the Eastern District of New York (EDNY) and the Southern District of New York (SDNY) who cannot afford to hire an attorney.
Services include brief legal counseling, advising litigants about whether they should file a federal lawsuit, interpreting and explaining federal law and procedure, and reviewing draft pleadings and correspondence with the Court. Litigants in need of legal assistance should complete the City Bar Justice Center’s intake form to make an appointment. If a litigant has questions about the intake form or needs to highlight an urgent deadline already disclosed in the form, the clinic can be contacted by phone at 212.382.4794.
Post-Conviction Relief
New York State Office of Indigent Legal Services—Appellate Resources
Provides a list of links to information that may be helpful to people who are working on an appeal. Also includes a Post-Conviction Litigation Resources page with a 16-page Statutory Overview of CPL 440.10 and 440.20. Please note, ILS does not provide legal representation.
The JLM has a section, a total of three chapters, about this topic: Section VI: How to Attack Your Conviction, Sentence, or Prison Conditions at the State Level.
Publications Similar to Connections
Publications Similar to Connections
Several other NYS counties provide publications similar to NYPL’s Connections. Below is a list of known resources, including the address where people can write to request a copy. A complete list can also be found in Connections. 211 New York Sate also has a Reentry Resource Directory with short pdfs of reentry resources for all NYS counties.
Capital Regions Connections (Covers Albany, Schenectady, and Rensselaer)
The Center for Law and Justice
Pine West Plaza, Building 2, Washington Avenue Ext., Albany, NY 12205
Southern Tier Library System–Outreach Services
9424 Scott Road, Painted Post, NY 14870
Finger Lakes Library System–Outreach Department
1300 Dryden Road, Ithaca, NY 14850
North Country Reentry Resource (Covers Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence counties)
Available online only.
Clinton-Essex-Franklin Library System–Outreach
33 Oak Street, Plattsburgh, NY 12901
Connections: A Guide to Transitional Services in Erie County
Buffalo & Erie County Public Library–Transitional Services Division
1 Lafayette Square, Buffalo, NY 14203
Mid-Hudson Library System–Outreach Department
103 Market Street, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
Community Connections: Livingston, Ontario, Wayne, & Wyoming (OWWL) Counties
OWWL Library System
2557 State Route 21, Canandaigua, NY 14424
Rochester Public Library–Outreach Department
115 South Avenue, Rochester, NY 14604
Suffolk County Reentry Task Force C/O Probation Department
PO Box 188, Yaphank, NY 11980
Westchester Library System–Reentry Services
570 Taxter Road, Elmsford, NY 10523
Reentry Task Force by NYS County
Reentry Task Force by NYS County
Many New York State Counties have a Reentry Task Force program. Below is the contact information for programs in counties that have no known reentry guidebook. A complete list of all Reentry Task Forces is available in Connections and the County Reentry Task Force area offices website.
Many New York State Counties have a Reentry Task Force program. Below is the contact information for programs in counties that have no known reentry guidebook. A complete list of all Reentry Task Forces is available in Connections and the County Reentry Task Force area offices website.
Broome County Reentry Task Force
C/O Southern Tier AIDS Program
22 Riverside Drive, Binghamton, NY 13905
Telephone: 607.798.1706
Nassau County Reentry Task Force
℅ Leadership Training Institute
50 Clinton Street, Suite 607, Hempstead, NY 11550
Telephone: 516.483.3400
Niagara County Reentry Task Force
℅ Community Missions
1570 Buffalo Avenue, Niagara Falls, NY 14303
Telephone: 716.285.3403 x2258
Oneida County Reentry Task Force
℅ Workforce Investment Board
209 Elizabeth Street, Utica, NY 13501
Telephone: 315.207.6951
Onondaga County Reentry Task Force
℅ John H. Mulroy Civic Center
421 Montgomery Street, 12th Floor, Syracuse, NY 13202
Telephone: 315.435.2985 x7153
Orange County Reentry Task Force
℅ RECAP, Inc.
201 Broadway, Newburgh, NY 12550
Telephone: 845.568.3445
Rockland County Reentry Task Force
℅ Bridges
2290 Palisades Center Drive, West Nyack, NY 10994
Telephone: 845.624.1366 x136
Ulster County Reentry Task Force
℅ Family of Woodstock, Inc.
31 Albany Avenue, PO Box 3516, Kingston, NY 12402
Telephone: 845.331.7080
Other States
In addition, nonprofit organizations and public libraries in other states may maintain lists of resources for formerly incarcerated individuals, as well as for those who are currently incarcerated. The following are national guides and resources that we know of. Please note that these resources may not be updated frequently, but are still a good jumping off point to find information and resources in other states.
A comprehensive source of information about local resources and services in the country. People can search online via address or zip code.
Education Justice Project’s Mapping Your Future: National Edition
A national resource with helpful advice about housing, employment, healthcare, substance use and more, with resources for formerly incarcerated individuals throughout the US.
Provides a list of reentry resources on a national, state, local level.
Provides a list of resources on a national level, and by state.
Provides a list of resources searchable by state.
Starting a Business
Starting a Business
We frequently receive requests from people seeking information relating to starting a business. In addition to the resources provided in Connections, a template has been created for this subject, which includes information on how to write a business plan. The following are useful websites for more specific questions.
Provides information and resources for those looking to start a small business. Information on a certification program for minority and women-owned businesses and a map of services locations are also available.
Provides information on topics such as how to start a business, operating a business, and applying for permits, licenses, and certifications.
US Small Business Administration
Provides information and resources on topics including how to devise a business plan, federal contracting information, a comprehensive business guide, and a directory of local assistance offices.
Pen Pal Resources
Pen Pal Resources
Below is a list of organizations that provide pen pal services.
Please note a number of these sites require someone on the outside to submit information. Unfortunately, the New York Public Library is unable to do this on behalf of our patrons.
Also note that many pen pal sites are proprietary, meaning they'd like to make money off of listing a person's information, without guaranteeing a pen pal in return. Furthermore, many pen pal organizations are staffed by volunteers, and may be slow in responding to letters.
Many of the services listed here are based in New York or the tri-state area (NY/NJ/CT). For additional information on pen pal programs nationwide, please visit the guide: Resources for Writing to Incarcerated People by Heather Mytelka.
For LGBTQI+ People
For LGBTQI+ People
General Inquiries: 2406 Fowler Avenue, Suite 316, Omaha, NE 68111
Inside Member Mailing Address: 6223 Maple Street, #4600, Omaha, NE 68104
From the website: To request that a newsletter be sent to someone inside and to sign them up for our PenPal program, please fill out the online form to the best of your ability. We will reach out if we have any additional questions, and will add them to the distribution list. Please specify if interested in only one program. Black & Pink’s resources are not discreet. People who receive our monthly newsletter are receiving something that is very clearly LGBTQ and HIV focused. Our newsletter also includes political material that aligns with our values, including content that challenges all systems of oppression. Please be sure your loved one, client, or friend wants to be put on our list before adding them.
Prisoner Correspondence Project
QPIRG Concordia c/o Concordia University
1455 de Maisonneuve Ouest
Montreal QC H3G 1M8 CANADA
From the website: The Prisoner Correspondence Project is a solidarity project for gay, lesbian, transgender, gendervariant, two-spirit, intersex, bisexual and queer incarcerated people in Canada and the United States, linking them with people a part of these same communities outside of prison.
For People with Disabilities
For People with Disabilities
Sick of It! A Disability Inside/Outside Project
From the website: The goal of this project is to build long term community and connection between disabled communities inside and outside prisons. Writing to folks inside is a critical way of combating the isolation criminalized disabled people face and resists their disappearance into the system. Request a zine for someone inside by writing “INSIDE REQUEST” in the subject line on the online form. In the body, make sure to include the legal first name of the person, facility/address, and DIN number. Otherwise send us any questions or comments you may have. You can also write to us at:
Matilda Sabal
℅ Sick of It!
PO Box 180177, Brooklyn NY 11218
Additional
Additional
From the website: For years, Solitary Watch has been reaching out to people in solitary with letters, cards, and newsletters, reminding them that they have not been forgotten by the world outside their cells. We call this project Lifelines to Solitary. In 2015, we expanded the project to include the first prison pen pal program specifically designed to reach people in solitary confinement. If you know someone currently in solitary confinement who might like to be assigned a correspondent, ask them to write with their request to the address below to be sent our guidelines and signed up for the program.
Lifelines to Solitary
PO Box 11503, Washington, DC 20008.
Justice Arts Coalition pARTner Project
From the website: The pARTner project provides artists on the outside an opportunity to foster connection with artists in prison through letter correspondence and the exchange of creative works. Interested writers can fill out this form and mail it to the address below.
Justice Arts Coalition
PO Box 11065, Takoma Park, MD 20913
For Profit
For Profit
(East Coast) PO Box 7717, Jacksonville, FL 32238
(West Coast) 2000 Vassar St. #10731, Reno, NV 89510
From the website: You fill out the brochure to get your information listed on the website.
PO Box 83897, Los Angeles, CA 90083
From the website: Write to request an application form, with pricing information.
PO Box 10, Edgewater, FL 32132-0010
From the website: Write to receive a brochure, including pricing information.
Useful Websites
Useful Websites
The following are additional resources that may be helpful.
Prison Book Program's National Prison Resource List
The pdf provides information about organizations that support people in prison and their loved ones.
Publishes up-to-date research about mass incarceration in the United States. Reports and data visuals are available. The website includes a research library, a data toolbox, and an advocacy toolkit covering a wide range of topics, including how to find data sources for incarceration statistics.
A clearinghouse of materials for attorneys, social service providers, and policy reform advocates on reentry and the consequences of criminal proceedings. The Library links to materials on recidivism, alternatives to incarceration (ATI) and diversion programs, finding a lawyer, policy reform, and many other topics.
A national research and policy organization providing research and reports relating to the criminal legal system.
Legal Action Center's Resource Center
Provides information and resources on many topics including employment, education, housing, rap sheets, certificates, reentry, and more.
HITE: Health Information Tool for Empowerment
An online directory offering information on more than 6,000 health and social services available to low-income, uninsured, and underinsured individuals in the Greater New York area.
National Reentry Resource Center
A national list of organizations and resources hosted by the DOJ's Bureau of Justice Assistance, including Second Chance Grantee map.
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