The Western House of Refuge was established as the first state reformatory of the nation by the State Legislature on May 8, 1846 (Laws of 1846, Ch. 143). The report of the Assembly committee preparing the legislation focused on the problem of juveniles being incarcerated with older criminals. In addition it argued that the state-financed but privately managed New York House of Refuge did not serve the western counties of the state (1846, Assembly Document #93). The new institution was opened in August 1849; by the end of the year there were thirty-eight male inmates. The by-laws required the superintendent to keep records of incoming inmates' background, cause of commitment, indenture, and discharge, as well as a daily journal.
Under its by-laws the institution was entrusted to fifteen managers appointed by the governor for a term of two years. The Board of Managers in turn appointed the officers, consisting of the superintendent, at least one assistant superintendent, teachers and assistant teachers, a steward, gate keeper, physician, and chaplain. The first superintendent, Samuel B. Wood, had previously held the same title at the New York House of Refuge. At first under the act of incorporation, county criminal courts were required to commit all males eighteen or under, or females seventeen or under, who were convicted of felonies. The courts had discretion on commitment for those convicted of petit larceny and vagrancy. From 1850, commitments were restricted to the forty-three counties in the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Judicial Districts.
The by-laws authorized the managers to indenture discharged inmates during their minority to employers who agreed to teach vocational and literacy skills and provide home and board. Most boys were contracted out to farms and local industries. Inmates in the reformatory worked during the daytime and attended classes in the evening. Superintendent Levi Fulton (1870-1888) initiated an innovative "badge system" in 1871. Inmates advanced towards discharge on the basis of behavior. Inmates earned successive badges if they completed sixteen weeks without invoking disciplinary action. The badges were inscribed "onward", "upward", and "excelsior" respectively.
The State Assembly conducted an investigation in 1884 based on complaints of excessive punishment in the reports of the Visiting Committee. At this time, approximately six hundred inmates with an average age of thirteen remained in the reformatory for two years. The committee reported that the superintendent was too busy with business matters to maintain close supervision of the staff and inmates and recommended that he be relieved of such duties as purchasing of supplies. More importantly, the committee argued that emphasis had been misplaced on making the institution self-supporting through the work of the inmates, to the detriment of education and reform. Ironically, the committee also recommended that the inmates raise their own vegetables and make their own clothes. Legislation resulted from this report prohibiting contract labor by juvenile inmates in all correctional facilities and reformatories (Laws of 1884, Ch. 470).
In 1893, in accordance with the committee's report, inmates were separated through a system of classification based on age and behavior so that older inmates would have little influence on younger ones. The Board of Classification, composed of the superintendent and designees of the Board of Managers, determined division assignments for male "cadets." They also made recommendations to grant and revoke parole. In like manner, according to legislation (Laws of 1891, Ch. 216) minors convicted of felonies could be committed to the reformatory only if they were twelve or under.
Despite the original mandate to include girls as well as boys, the Female Department was not established until 1876. This department was under the direct charge of matrons and was not included in the criticism of the 1884 legislative investigation. In 1886 the reformatory changed its name to the State Industrial School. By the same legislation (Laws of 1886, Ch. 539) mililtary instruction was authorized and a program including drill, uniforms, and weapons followed. Inmates from this time were referred to as cadets. Corporal punishment was abolished in 1891. Greater efforts were made to supervise placement of paroled children. In 1893, Catholic and Protestant parole agents were appointed. They used reports and visits to monitor parole. In 1911 parole agents were hired in Buffalo, Syracuse, and Troy. Paroled inmates were frequently returned to the reformatory for actions not in keeping with parole behavior, although that was not specifically defined.
The most important accomplishment of Superintendent Franklin H. Briggs (1884-1912) was the establishment of the cottage system. As early as 1898 the Board of Managers recommended the purchase of farm land. The goals were to provide better agricultural training, as farm work was the most likely employment of discharged inmates, and also to allow for further isolation of inmate groups designated by the classification system. As construction was begun in the town of Rush (later renamed Industry) in 1904, the Female Department was phased out. Isolated cottages became the focus of residential life and vocational training, and military training ended. The reformatory adopted the name New York State Agricultural and Industrial School in 1907. The move to Industry, New York was completed in 1907 and the following year annual fairs of agricultural produce and livestock began. A highlight of this period was the visit by foreign delegates to the International Prison Congress in September 1910.
In 1927 the State Department of Charities took direct administrative control from the Board of Managers, which became the Board of Visitors. Two years later the Department of Charities became the Department of Social Welfare. This department continued to supervise the State Agricultural and Industrial School. In 1967 (Laws of 1967, Ch. 728) the Department of Social Welfare was renamed the Department of Social Services. Four years later a reorganization transferred all training schools and facilities for juveniles to the Division for Youth in the Executive Department (Laws of 1971, Ch. 110). The Office of Children and Family Services operates the Industry Residential Center, successor to the State Agricultural and Industrial School, as a limited security facility for youth aged thirteen to seventeen, adjudicated as juvenile delinquents by family courts.
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Industry Residential Center, located sixteen miles south of Rochester, New York, serves male, adjudicated, juvenile delinquents who are placed with the Office of Children and Family Services by Family Court. The center consists of two campuses designated as Upper Campus and Lower Campus. Upper Campus is an 80-bed facility which houses youth ages sixteen and seventeen, adjudicated under the state’s “Raise the Age” act. Lower Campus is a 50-bed facility that houses youth adjudicated prior to the age of sixteen. Each campus has a separate education building and several vocational shops, outdoor recreation fields, and gardens.
