Rehabilitation
Most of the offenders in our facilities will return to communities in Maryland. The Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services provides education, health, and training programs to help ensure offenders can become positively contributing members to the communities they return to.
Our flagship restorative justice program, Public Safety Works, provides employment skills as well as an opportunity for offenders to give back to the community they have harmed - a powerful and significant tool of rehabilitation.
DPSCS partners with other government agencies, community groups and non-profits to help them accomplish jobs that might otherwise not get done due to limited resources and funding. Projects range from community revitalization efforts to projects that are improving the sustainability of Maryland's natural resources.
PSW is also a bridge to meaningful employment for this population, helping develop basic everyday skills needed to be an effective employee such as learning to respect a supervisor and working as a team. Praise for PSW has come from citizens, elected officials, our partner agencies and the offenders who get a chance to do something positive for society prior to their return.
DPSCS also works with animals in its restorative justice efforts, bringing trained service dogs for veterans and non-veterans alike, as well as training rowdy animals in preparation for adoption. Our Second Chances Horse Farm is one of just nine such farms in the country where incarcerated individuals learn to care for retired thoroughbred horses.
When it comes to rehabilitation, other DPSCS priorities include drug treatment - we launched the first ever correctional methadone maintenance program in the country - and education. Our collaboration with Goucher College allows incarcerated individuals to earn fully transferrable college credits at the Maryland-based liberal arts school.