Howard County is located in central Maryland, between Washington DC, and Baltimore. The Department of Corrections is composed of the detention center and the central booking facility. The detention center has a capacity of 461; the population averages around 340. Within this population are about 100 detainees whom Howard County holds under contract with the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, leaving about 250 locally committed individuals. Director of Corrections Jack Kavanagh understands the critical need for integrated planning and services delivery bridging incarceration and community, and notes, "Effectively addressing the offender's needs through a network of programs and services that span the jail setting into the community is the business of corrections. To meet our mission of public safety, Howard County Corrections works collaboratively with community partners promoting that our clients are your clients. The focus of our efforts is community safety through reduced recidivism."

Reducing the number of reoffenders is an important focus of public safety, and Howard County agencies and community partners who already work together on many initiatives, are eager to expand and streamline reentry efforts. Community partners involved in the reentry initiative include the Mental Health Authority, Health Department Bureau of Addictions, Healthy Howard, and the State Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, Community Supervision. Howard County continues to look for ways to identify and commit the right resources to the right offenders to improve the prospect for successful return to the community.

The county's history of public-private agency collaboration on large-scale issues bodes well for developing a systemic approach to enhanced public safety through improved reentry processes and services. Howard County has been selected as a site for Phase II of the Transition from Jail to Community Initiative for technical assistance will work with community partners by using evidence-based practices to reduce recidivism rates.

For further information, contact Patricia Schupple, deputy director, Howard County Department of Corrections at pschupple@howardcountymd.gov or 410-313-5204.