November 21, 2025 — The New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) announced November 18 that Bare Hill Correctional Facility in Franklin County will close at the end of business on March 11, 2026.
Fifty-eight members of the PS&T bargaining unit currently work there. In addition, DOCCS said Collins Correctional Facility in Erie County will be consolidated by the end of the fiscal year (March 31, 2026) so it can be more efficiently managed and staffed.
DOCCS said in its statement that “all staff assigned to Bare Hill will be offered positions at other facilities” and no staff will be laid off. While there are hundreds of vacancies at nearby facilities in Clinton and Essex counties, a change in employment is never easy. DOCCS and PEF will be meeting with members at Bare Hill to make sure they know the Civil Service “Reduction in Force” (RIF) process that must be followed in these circumstances. The union is committed to supporting all members who choose to make the transition.
“The state is closing facilities, at least in part, because there are not sufficient security staff to maintain safe operations,” said President Wayne Spence. “New York cannot deliver needed mental health, education, addiction treatment or other services without adequate staff and the state cannot maintain appropriate staffing without enhancing the safety and security of everyone behind the walls. PEF will continue to urge policymakers to come together to identify and effectuate appropriate reforms to increase the safety and security of staff and incarcerated individuals at all DOCCS facilities.”