Correctional Services - Comprehensive Rehabilitative Prerelease Services - Female Incarcerated Individuals
HB 935 revises Maryland’s correctional services laws to expand and accelerate the development of a comprehensive prerelease program for female incarcerated individuals. The bill changes the required specifications for the prerelease unit for women, including where it must be located, how large and capable the site must be, and what features the facility must include. It requires the Department of General Services, at the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services’ request, to review existing proposals, issue a new request for proposals if needed, and move forward with planning, design, and construction under an expedited procurement process.
The bill also requires the Commissioner of Correction to provide evidence-based and gender-responsive prerelease services to eligible women before the new facility is fully built and occupied. Those services include education, vocational training, job placement, family reunification support, trauma-informed counseling, mental health and substance use treatment, and individualized reentry planning with community partners. The bill adds reporting deadlines for the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, the Department of General Services, and the Office of the Correctional Ombudsman to monitor progress and compliance.
HB 935 amends Sections 3-301 and 3-303 of the Correctional Services Article and adds new Section 3-301.1, creating more detailed statutory requirements for a prerelease unit for women and for prerelease programming for female incarcerated individuals. It shifts the facility requirement to Baltimore City, adds minimum site and capacity standards, and requires specific building features such as accessible rooms, classrooms, medical space, recreational areas, and access to public transportation. It also imposes new administrative duties on state agencies, including procurement, construction planning, program implementation, and legislative reporting, while directing the Correctional Ombudsman to verify compliance.
The bill appears generally supportive of expanding rehabilitative and reentry services for incarcerated women, with a strong emphasis on gender-responsive programming, trauma-informed care, and practical reentry supports. The broad list of bipartisan-looking sponsors suggests substantial legislative interest in the issue. Because there are no recorded votes or committee transcripts in the provided material, there is no clear evidence of opposition or debate in the available record, but the bill’s detailed construction and implementation mandates suggest a policy focus on ensuring the project actually moves forward.
The main points of potential contention are likely to be the facility location, the mandated site requirements, the expedited procurement process, and the cost and timeline of construction and program implementation. Requiring the prerelease unit to be in Baltimore City, on a site of at least three acres and away from existing correctional facilities, may raise siting and land-use concerns. The bill also imposes significant operational obligations on the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services and the Department of General Services, which could prompt questions about funding, feasibility, and whether services must begin before the facility is complete. No specific opposition is documented in the provided materials.