July 25th, 2016 by WCBC Radio
Governor Larry Hogan today announced Maryland is providing $540,000 to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office to operate the state’s first adult day reporting center. This announcement fulfills a key recommendation of the Heroin and Opioid Emergency Task Force to establish a day reporting center pilot program to integrate treatment into offender supervision. This new center will provide non-violent offenders who have substance abuse disorders with effective supervision and proven treatment programs that include therapy, life skills, and education.
“Since day one, our administration has been committed to fighting Maryland’s heroin crisis and today’s announcement is representative of that continued commitment,” said Governor Hogan. “This pilot program is another step to provide those suffering with addiction with the effective treatment before, during, and after incarceration – with the ultimate goal of helping them become productive members of society and keeping our neighborhoods safe.”
Funding for this program was made available in Governor Hogan’s FY 2017 budget, which includes $3.7 million new dollars to put the recommendations of the Heroin and Opioid Emergency Task Force into action. The funding will be administered through the Governor’s Office of Crime Control & Prevention, which will also participate in monthly strategic planning meetings with the day reporting center’s partners. This program complies with one of the goals of Maryland’s Justice Reinvestment Act by helping to reduce the high cost of incarceration. Offenders who are sent to the day reporting center will be required to be employed or to be actively searching for employment. They will go through a controlled, step-by-step process to help them become productive citizens.
“Washington County has already been a leader in creating successful programs that provide needed treatment while ensuring their streets are safe,” said Lt. Governor Boyd Rutherford, who chaired the Heroin and Opioid Emergency Task Force. “It is our hope that if Washington County is successful, this pilot program will serve as a model across the state.”
“This grant means we can provide holistic treatment for those offenders who are substance abusers and, as a result, make Washington County even safer for its citizens,” said Washington County Sheriff Doug Mullendore. “We appreciate the opportunity to demonstrate that the right path for substance-addicted offenders is to treat them as individuals who have a medical condition, rather than try to solve the problem through incarceration.”
“Community-based supervision options that are proven to work to reduce an individual’s likelihood of committing another crime or returning to jail are at the heart of the Justice Reinvestment Act,” said Glenn Fueston, executive director of the Governor’s Office of Crime Control & Prevention, which is administering the funding for the center. “The day reporting center will advance the principles of justice reinvestment— increased public safety, controlled corrections spending, and lower recidivism rate—by providing treatment, education, training, and services along with the appropriate level of supervision.”
Washington County’s day reporting center is supported by a partnership of criminal justice, behavioral health, and educational entities, including the Courts, Parole and Probation, the Washington County State’s Attorney’s Office, the Maryland Office of the Public Defender, the Washington County Bar Association, and the Washington County Health Department. Offenders who enter the program are expected to make their way through a four-phase protocol that includes an initial behavioral health and criminogenic risk assessment, daily classes, urinalysis testing, curfews, and levels of supervision by the Division of Parole and Probation that advance from intensive to intermediate to aftercare. Offenders are expected to participate in the day reporting center’s activities for a minimum of 92 days within a six-month period. Those who do not meet the criteria of the program will either be sent back to an earlier phase, or incarcerated.
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