Osborne Association
Osborne Association is a non-governmental, multi-service, criminal justice reform, and direct service organization. Osborne offers programs for people who have been in conflict with the law and their families. It operates from community offices in Brooklyn, The Bronx, Buffalo, Manhattan, and Newburgh, New York and inside more than two dozen New York State prisons and jails. Osborne's mission is to serve individuals, families, and communities affected by the criminal justice system. Through their programs, they offer opportunities for people to heal from and repair harm, restore their lives, and thrive. They challenge systems rooted in  racism and retribution and fight for policies and practices that promote true safety, justice, and liberation. Osborne was created by merging organizations that had been founded by Thomas Mott Osborne, former mayor of Auburn, New York and warden of Sing Sing Correctional Facility. Osborne's family-focused programs help individuals reconnect with family members and their communities, address substance abuse problems, and prepare for employment. The organization advocates nationally for the needs of children with incarcerated parents, the rights of older adults in prison and reentry, and of the importance of prison educational programs. History. In 1913, Thomas Mott Osborne , an industrialist and former mayor of Auburn, New York, voluntarily spent a week in prison. After his experience, Osborne committed himself to reforming the American prison system from society's "scrap heap into a human repair shop," to emphasize rehabilitation rather than punishment. Dedicated to the idea of a criminal justice system that "restores to society the largest number of intelligent, forceful, honest citizens," Osborne went on to become a progressive warden at Sing Sing Correctional Facility, where the majority of the individuals released did not return to prison after finishing their sentences. Osborne also established the Mutual Welfare League  and the National Society of Penal Information. The two organizations merged to form Osborne Association in 1933 to continue Osborne's work. Leadership. Elizabeth Gaynes is the president and CEO of Osborne Association. Gaynes trained as a lawyer and began her legal career as a criminal defense attorney, working at a Buffalo, New York law firm involved in representing people incarcerated at Attica Correctional Facility during the 1971 prison uprising. Prior to coming to Osborne in 1985, she was an associate at the Pretrial Services Resource Center (now the Pretrial Justice Institute) in Washington D.C. In 2013, Gaynes was recognized  as a Champion of Change by the White House for her work with children of incarcerated parents. In August 2021, Gaynes announced that she would be stepping down as Osborne's President and CEO and that the Board of Directors had begun a search to find Osborne's next leader. In February 2022, Osborne's Board of Directors announced that they had hired Archana Jayaram as the organization's next president and chief executive officer. Archana joins Osborne from The Legal Aid Society of NYC where she served as their chief operating officer. Programs. Osborne Association has grown into a  multi-service organization that addresses the comprehensive needs of individuals involved in the criminal justice system from arrest through reentry. Osborne now operates more than 25 programs, including employment, substance abuse treatment, healthy parenting and relationships, and release planning. In accordance with existing research demonstrating that strong family relationships promote better reentry outcomes and reduce the likelihood of recidivism. Family-focused programs. Osborne's programming is family-focused and provides opportunities for individuals to mend, maintain and strengthen their relationships with their families. The Pew Charitable Trusts found through their research that children of parents in prison are five times  more likely to be expelled or suspended from school. Osborne Association found through their research that children are two times more likely to show signs of a mental health disorder, are more likely to live in poverty, and are more likely to experience attention disorders or major depression than the general population. Since 2006, Osborne has led the New York Initiative for Children of Incarcerated Parents, a 67-member coalition of government agencies and community- and faith-based organizations to "advocate for and support policies and practices that meet the needs and respect the rights of children and youth whose  parents are involved in the criminal justice system." In 2016, Osborne Association received $1.3 million by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for their Working Parents activities, particularly the Responsible Fatherhood program which helps men who were incarcerated create deeper relationships after their release with their children. Osborne has long advocated for building and maintaining strong family relationships during incarceration. They offer free, clinically-supported video visiting for children with a parent in prison. Through that program, children are able to visit via a secure video connection to their incarcerated mom or dad from a comfortable, living -room-like space in one of Osborne's community-based offices. Training and employment. A catering business, Fresh Start Catering, provides training and employment opportunities to individuals who graduated from Osborne Associations' catering training programs on Rikers Island. This became part of Osborne's programs in 2008, and was started in 1989 by Barbara Margolis. The Career Center was started in 2009. It offers training, career development, coaching, and assistance in getting and keeping employment.