Mid-Hudson Forensic Psychiatric Center

Mid-Hudson Forensic Psychiatric Center (MHFPC) is a secure adult psychiatric center operated by the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) in New Hampton, Orange County, New York. The facility admits patients by court order following judicial findings of incompetence to stand trial or not responsible by reason of mental disease or defect.

In 2013, OMH's statewide restructuring plan proposed shifting Mid-Hudson's inpatient forensic capacity to other forensic centers, citing facility age and high estimated reconstruction costs. State officials later reversed plans to close the facility, with local officials and labor representatives arguing it provided critical capacity and jobs in the region.

History

The Mid-Hudson campus originated as the New York City Reformatory at New Hampton, also known as New Hampton Farms, which opened in 1916 to replace the city's reformatory on Hart Island. Descriptions of the reformatory emphasize agricultural, forestry, and construction work as part of its rehabilitation programs.

Following a directive in 1945, the State of New York was permitted temporary use of a facility known as "Cubicle Building No. 1" at the New Hampton reformatory.

In the 1958–59 New York State budget, the state reported that it had acquired "New Hampton Farms in Orange County" through a lease–purchase arrangement for conversion to a training school for boys. The campus was later transferred to New York State and converted in the 1970s to a forensic psychiatric hospital, later known as Mid-Hudson Forensic Psychiatric Center.