Great Meadow Correctional Facility
Great Meadow Correctional Facility is a maximum-security facility for adult male inmates that is located in Comstock, New York. It is operated by the New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision and can house approximately 1,700 inmates.
In addition to housing the general population, Great Meadow has a dedicated mental health unit for inmates with mental disorders, and a segregation unit.
This facility was the fourth prison built in the state of New York for adult male inmates. It opened in 1911, but no one knows how the facility got its name. As a rule, New York prisons are named after the city they are built in, but the origin story of the name of Great Meadow Correctional Facility remains a mystery.
Prison Insights
Great Meadow Correctional Facility
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Visiting Hours and Rules
Visiting hours for the general population at Great Meadow Correctional Facility are seven days a week (including holidays) from 9:00AM to 3:30PM.
Special Housing Unit Visiting Days & Hours (Inmates in SHU custody are allowed one non-legal visit within a seven day period): 9:00AM to 3:00PM Wednesday to Tuesday
A maximum of three adults & three lap children are allowed during weekday visits, and two adults & one lap child is the limit on the weekends. For more detailed visiting information, click here.
Visit Checklist
This visit checklist helps you to prepare for your visit with an inmate:
- Confirm that the offender has not been transferred and has visitation privileges.
- Bring valid photo identification.
- If you have made special arrangements with the facility, call before leaving to ensure that plans for your visit have been made and are in place.
- Check clothing and jewelry for compliance with the dress code.
- If you are bringing a child and you are not the legal guardian or parent, be sure you have a notarized statement from the child’s parent or legal guardian.
- Arrive on the designated day during proper visiting hours.
- Leave purses, wallets, and electronic devices in the glove compartment or in the trunk of your car. Be sure to lock your car!
- Do not leave minor children waiting in the car or your visit will be ended.
- Do not have any contraband on you when you enter the facility.
- Treat correctional staff with respect.
Do not bring anything into the visiting room to give to your inmate. They are not allowed to take anything from the visiting area.
Physical Address
Great Meadow Correctional Facility
11739 State Route 22
Comstock, New York 12821
Driving Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/AaCCQVVqS5sE8Vft6
General Phone Number
(518) 639-5516
Inmate Mailing Address(es)
Inmate Name, DOC Number
Great Meadow Correctional Facility
P.O. Box 51
Comstock, New York 12821-0051
Envelopes may include personal letters and photographs. You are not allowed to send: nude photographs, Polaroid photos, postage stamps, or letters from other people, except children.
All inmate correspondence is limited to five pages of printed or photocopied materials. An individual newspaper clipping is considered to be one page. Do not tape, glue, or paste clipping or pages together or to other pages.
How to Call an Inmate
You can’t call an inmate at the Great Meadow Correctional Facility, but they do have access to phones during daytime hours for outgoing calls. For complete details on how to call an inmate in New York, please click here.
How to Send Money
When you visit Great Meadow Correctional Facility, you can leave cash, money orders, and checks in the visitor deposit lockbox. JPay also offers five ways for family and friends to send money to an inmate:
- Online: Log into JPay to deposit money using your credit or debit card.
- Mobile App: You can make deposits anytime, anywhere by downloading the free app at the APP STORE or GOOGLE PLAY.
- Phone: Credit and debit card deposits can be made by calling 1-800-574-5729.
- US Mail: Mail a check or money order with a JPay deposit slip to the JPay Lockbox:
JPay
PO Box 531190
Miami, Florida 33153
Deposit slip: ENGLISH ESPANOL
- MoneyGram: Make deposits using cash at MoneyGram locations using Receive Code 1317.
Programs For Inmates
Great Meadow Correctional Facility offers a variety of programs and services for inmates, and there are also industries on the grounds that employ inmates.
Adult Basic Education
This course is for incarcerated individuals who have reading and math scores below the sixth grade level on the Department's selected standardized test in reading, mathematics, and language arts in the context of real life adult problems and situations.
Aggression Replacement Training (ART)
A cognitive behavioral intervention program designed to assist individuals in improving social skills, moral reasoning, coping with and reducing aggressive behavior through the use of self-regulating exercises and mindfulness.
Building Maintenance
The Building Maintenance program provides students with fundamental skills required to make minor repairs in carpentry, masonry, electricity, plumbing, and weatherization. This course prepares the student with entry-level skills as a building superintendent.
Cleaning and Personal Care Products Manufacturing
The set-up of equipment, operation of automatic equipment, and the understanding of chemical composition of soap products are taught in this industrial program.
Participants are expected to learn the techniques used in testing products, interpreting the use of manuals, and the loading and packing of products involved in soap production. They are provided an opportunity to acquire job skills and acceptable work habits by participating in a production oriented environment, operating equipment, and meeting production schedules and quality standards.
College Program
In addition to the New York Theological Seminary's Masters of Professional Studies Program, Great Meadow offers the Bennington College Certificate program for individuals who achieve 16 credits. Participants have the option to transfer to a facility with the Bard Prison Initiative for completion of degree.
Computer Operator
This course introduces students to the hardware and software components of computers. The main focus of the program is the operation of software, which includes word processing, spreadsheets, databases and presentations.
Custodial Maintenance
The Custodial Maintenance Course emphasizes custodial services, including floor care, carpet and fabric care, upholstery care, window care, restroom care, and the safe use and operation of power cleaning equipment and sanitation chemicals.
Electrical Trades
This course provides instruction in basic electricity with emphasis on installing and servicing of all types of residential and commercial wiring systems. Skills taught include code interpretation, installation and servicing of circuits and controls, use of testing equipment, reading of architectural drawings, and wiring schematics.
Family Reunion Program
Provides approved incarcerated individuals and their families the opportunity to meet for a designated period of time in a private home-like setting.
The goals of the program include:
- Preserving and strengthening family ties that have been disrupted as a result of incarceration.
- Fostering positive and responsible conduct.
- Facilitating post-release reintegration into the family and community, thereby reducing the likelihood of recidivism.
Floor Covering
The Floor Covering Course covers the installation of most floor covering materials including types of carpeting, floor tile, sheet goods, wall tile, and quarry slate. Students learn layout and measurement, floor preparation, maintenance and repair, and job estimation.
Masonry
Students in masonry are taught the fundamentals of wall construction, mixing mortar, learning to work with brick, cinderblock, cement blocks, and concrete. Students must also learn blueprint reading and trade mathematics.
Metal Furniture Manufacturing
The Metal Furniture Shops involve the preparation and assembly of special metal projects, including beds, office furniture, and security screens. Some participants are taught the use of gas and arc welders, presses, and other metal fabricating machines. The assembly section of this shop includes attaching upholstered seat backs and the spray painting of the product.
Printing
The Printing Course is an extensive program teaching a variety of techniques ranging from bookbinding, typesetting, and lithography (offset press work). The goal of this course is to provide students with entry level skills that will enable them to secure employment in the printing trade.
Sex Offender Counseling and Treatment Program
The Sex Offender Counseling and Treatment Program (SOCTP) is a comprehensive program of counseling and treatment offered by the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision for convicted sex offenders and other offenders the Department identifies as likely to benefit from sex offender counseling and treatment based upon a study of their background.
Small Engine Repair
The Small Engine Repair course provides training in the repair and maintenance of lawn and garden equipment, recreational vehicles and motorcycles. Students learn troubleshooting, including testing, diagnosis, and repair. Skills taught include major engine overhaul, ignition testing and servicing, fuel system servicing and repair, mower blade replacement and servicing, power drive and transmitting systems, and understanding schematics and specifications.
Special Education
The Special Education Program provides intensive one-on-one and small group instruction to students under 21 years of age identified as having a disability. The goal of this program is to tailor learning activities to the diagnosed needs of students with a disability to enable them to achieve learning objectives and, where appropriate, to successfully participate in the regular academic program.
Welding
Students are taught various techniques of arc, oxyacetylene, tungsten inert gas (TIG), and metallic inert gas (MIG) welding and cutting. They learn control of equipment in the various positions of welding, as well as many types of joints, beads, welds and braces. This course includes blueprint reading and working from layouts and diagrams.
Pictures of Great Meadow Correctional Facility
Careers at Great Meadow Correctional Facility
If you are interested in a career with the New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision and would like to work at the Great Meadow Correctional Facility, you can find out more information by clicking here.
