NCJ Number
77760
Date Published
1980
Length
139 pages
Annotation
This report describes Maryland's participation in the LEAA's Correctional Standards Accreditation Program (CSAP) between October 1978 and June 1980, which produced significant improvements in the management and administration of State correctional facilities.
Abstract
The CSAP provided funds and technical assistance to 12 States who agreed to test accreditation procedures developed by the Commission on Accreditation for Corrections. A chronology is presented of Maryland's involvement in the accreditation process, including the application, planning activities which revolved around preparation of a self-evaluation report, and a final period during which all participating agencies were to achieve compliance with no-cost correctional standards. The functions of the standards management team, the major coordinating, monitoring, and advisory component of the project, are discussed. Responsibilities of individual agencies are also covered. Program designs, management methods, and degree of compliance achieved are then detailed for such Maryland correctional agencies as the parole commission, Patuxent Institution, division of parole and probation, the pre-release system, and adult correctional institutions. After completing the CSAP, most managers supported the accreditation process and concurred that the standards were realistic, viable, and attainable expressions of current correctional philosophy and practices. Despite fiscal restraints, additional efforts to secure compliance with correctional standards are planned by the State. Reports, statistical tables, and other documents produced by the standards management team and other participating agencies are appended.