The Department offers a wide range of programs to the inmate population. Through partnerships with other County departments, including the Health Department, Social Services, Community Colleges of Baltimore County and several nonprofit agencies, self-improvement programs are offered in:
- Anger management
- Domestic violence
- Healthy choices
- Job skills
Inmates can access any of the above programs by sending a 118 form to their Classification Officer.
Contact Information
| Program/Division | Contact Information |
|---|---|
| Programs Manager | Phone: 410-512-3400 |
| Alternative Sentencing Office Phone: 410-512-3343 | |
| Work Release | Phone: 410-512-3340 |
| Home Detention | Phone: 410-512-3429 |
| Classification Unit Phone: 410-512-3241 |
| Community Corrections Unit Phone: 410-512-3340 |
GED Program
The Baltimore County Office of Adult Education provides GED instructors to the facility to assist inmates in completing their high school education. Additionally, state law requires the Department of Corrections to provide continuing high school education for all detainees under the age of 21 who have not yet earned a GED or high school diploma.
Work Release Program
The program offers an inmate the opportunity to continue working while incarcerated, allowing financial support to be provided to their family. The unit is supervised by the Department of Corrections and is supported by local community businesses.
Read about the intake process below:
- An inmate must be recommended by the court, meet the eligibility criteria of the department, and be recommended by Classification staff.
- They will be submitted to the Medical Unit for medical clearance.
- Upon receiving a medical clearance, he or she will be approved for participation and transferred to the Work Release Housing Unit.
- Fees—There is no urine testing lab fee for inmates who work Baltimore County work details such as MES, Highways, etc.
- There is one-time $25 nonrefundable urine testing lab fee for inmates who will be working at outside employment. If an inmate is on the Work Release Program and has paid their lab fee, then they are not charged the same fee again if transferred to the Home Detention Program.
- There is a $60 weekly board fee for inmates employed outside the facility.
Home Detention Program
The Home Detention Unit utilizes the most up-to-date technology to monitor the location of inmates who are eligible to serve a sentence while living supervised at their residence as an alternative to incarceration. This affords the inmate an opportunity to continue employment, provide family support, and promote community involvement. The court may recommend home detention at the time of commitment, as a condition of pretrial release, or approved participants identified by Department staff as eligible. The Department encourages pre-screening of inmates for Home Detention.
- Participants approved by the court and the Department of Corrections for participation in the Home Detention Program receive orientation, including a review of program rules and regulations, and are advised of the penalties associated with violations.
- Department staff verify home residence and an acceptable living situation.
- Inmates are instructed on the proper use of the monitoring equipment, which is tested to verify that it is operational.
- Inmates are escorted to their residence by department staff, and after a visual check of the residence for security concerns, the equipment is installed, and the transmitter (ankle sensor) is placed on the participant.
- Staff again reviews the proper operation of the equipment with the participant, including an explanation of all computer-generated violations.
Participants are required to:
- Report to the Home Detention Office on a weekly basis to report job-related changes
- Provide verification of any court-ordered treatment program and any changes in their living situation.
- Pretrial participants are required to submit to weekly urinalysis. Sentenced participants are required to submit to random and probable cause urinalysis. A Breathalyzer test can be conducted at any time.
Staff responsibilities include:
- Monitoring program participants 24 hours per day, including:
- Incoming calls
- Adjusting schedules for approved absences from the home
- Violations—Handling minor rule violations administratively.
- Employment, medical and dental treatments, counseling, etc., are all verified and documented
- Conducting weekly telephone calls to the employer
- Conducting random home and work visits to monitor compliance with program rules.
Staff will seek an explanation for all computer-generated violations by attempting to make contact by telephoning or visiting the participant. If a participant’s whereabouts cannot be determined:
- The police will be contacted.
- A criminal report will be filed.
- Staff will request an escape warrant from the Court Commissioner’s Office.
- The referring judge will be notified of all changes in custody status or escapes.
Program violations such as positive urinalysis or Breathalyzer will result in an inmate’s removal from the program and the return to confinement in the detention center.
Work Details Program
Qualified inmates near the end of a sentence are housed in a less restrictive environment and used for interagency work details. The Department of Recreation and Parks has employed some inmates after the completion of their sentence. Work detail inmates are also a major part of the Maryland Environmental Services recycle facility workforce in Cockeysville.
Weekenders Program
The Detention Center houses male and female offenders sentenced by the court to serve "weekends" usually from Friday at 6 p.m. until Sunday at 6 p.m. Occasionally the "weekend" sentence will be served on weekdays to accommodate the offender's work schedule of regular days off.
Alternative Sentencing Program
The Alternative Sentencing Program supervises offenders who are court-ordered to one of two program components: Community Service or TASC. An offender can be supervised by one or both components of the Alternative Sentencing Program.
Community Service
The Community Service Program provides a court-ordered means for offenders to work without compensation for a specific number of hours in a nonprofit community or government agency. Its goals are to provide nonviolent offenders an opportunity to make a positive contribution to the community in lieu of fines/incarceration.
- Call the Community Service Office at 410-512-3343 to make an appointment at the Towson Office.
- The Community Service Program charges all offenders a nonrefundable $30 dollar administrative processing fee due at the time of the interview. The fee can only be paid at the Baltimore County Detention Center's Finance Office. Only cash or money orders (made payable to Baltimore County, Maryland) are accepted.
- The department has a list of private nonprofit and government worksites that have agreed to our established criteria. Work assignments are made by the inmate's Community Service Case Manager, who has the final decision of where the inmate will perform the hours. Assignments will be made in the inmate's community if possible, but will mostly be determined by:
- The inmate's skills
- Where they live
- Where there are openings
- Their employment/school schedule:
- If they are unemployed, employed part-time or are a part-time student—They will be required to work at least 16 hours per week on a regular predetermined schedule.
- If you are employed full-time or a full-time student—They will be required to work at least eight hours per week on a regular predetermined scheduled. They will set up a work schedule with your worksite supervisor giving specific dates and times for each week.
- If you do not adhere to the rules and regulations, you will be terminated from this program. Termination will result in you returning to court for a violation of probation or your case being returned to the State’s Attorney’s Office for prosecution, where you may receive one or more of the penalties you were trying to avoid.
If you need to have your hours transferred to another jurisdiction, your Community Service Case Manager will make that determination. Since your case originated in Baltimore County, we retain custody of your case reporting any infractions directly to the court.
TASC Program
The TASC Program provides evaluation and supervision to substance abuse-dependent individuals referred by the Baltimore County Circuit Court, District Court, or the State’s Attorney Office. Through treatment referral and closely supervised community reintegration, TASC aims to permanently interrupt the cycle of addiction and encourage positive societal behaviors. Case Management occurs in our Towson office as well as in Dundalk, Essex, and Catonsville.
TASC is primarily assigned by judges for drug offenders who would benefit from intensive case management services to get treatment and monitoring. TASC is considered more intensive case management than Parole and Probation. Offenders are required to report for the entire length of their probation. There are no call-ins and completion of a treatment program is usually required. Additionally, random urinalysis testing is conducted on a regular basis.
Additional Services
- Library Services—The Department of Corrections’ Detention Center has within its confines a branch of the Baltimore County Public Library. The library provides educational and recreational reading materials for the inmate population.
- Substance Abuse Counseling—Through partnerships with both the Baltimore County Office of Substance Abuse and Gaudenzia, LLC, substance abuse services are offered at the Detention Center as well as Alcoholics and Narcotics Anonymous. This includes court assessments as well as counseling.
- Religious Services—The Department of Corrections will provide religious opportunities for all denominations through volunteer religious providers.
- Pretrial Services—serves both the District and Circuit Courts of Baltimore County by providing verified background information and criminal histories on defendants scheduled for bail reviews. Qualified defendants are placed on Pretrial Services supervision in lieu of bail, and conditions of release are monitored.