kintml2u
04-22-2004, 06:38 PM
CHDU~Central Home Detention Unit
Executive Director
Robert McWhorter
Address
2100 Guilford Avenue
Baltimore, Maryland 21218
443-263-3800
Information
Overview
In 1990 the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services established the Central Home Detention Unit (CHDU) in response to legislation providing for carefully selected inmates from the Division of Correction to complete the last part of their incarceration in approved private homes. In July 1991, CHDU assumed responsibility for the home monitoring program (sentenced inmates and pretrial detainees) which had been operated by the former Baltimore City Jail. An agreement was reached in January 1992 which provided for individuals referred through the courts in Baltimore City to participate in home detention. Also in 1992, legislation was enacted that allows certain parolees to be placed in home detention.
Assignment to home detention enables offenders to begin rebuilding constructive community and employment relationships by assuming responsibility for their actions, and paying court-ordered restitution. Employed participants in the Department's home detention program are required to pay a supervision fee to offset the cost of their participation.
Rigorous Supervision
Home detention participants are supervised 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In the CHDU office, police communications operators monitor the computer stations continuously. Case managers/parole officers provide ongoing counseling and work placement services. Certified personnel prescribe treatment plans that may include drug/alcohol treatment, education, and crisis intervention counseling. The program also utilizes urinalysis to monitor drug use.
Uniformed and armed enforcement officers and parole agents, trained by the Maryland State Police, patrol in the community and make random home and work site visits. They are authorized to arrest and immediately return violators to custody. ALL program violations prompt a response.
Service Area
Currently, the Department’s home detention program operates in:
All of Baltimore City, and in closely neighboring areas of the following counties:
Baltimore County
Carroll County
Anne Arundel County
Howard County
Harford County
Sophisticated Electronic Monitoring
The Department's electronic monitoring equipment utilizes one of the most secure technologies available. A small radio transmitter is affixed to the offender's ankle. The anklet maintains contact with a verification unit located in the offender's home. This unit connects to the CHDU office's central monitoring station through the home's electrical and telephone systems. If the offender breaks contact with the verification unit, the office is alerted to a violation in progress, and an armed enforcement officer responds to the home.
CHDU's electronic supervision equipment also includes a portable field verifier. Police-style vehicles equipped with these devices patrol through the community making contact with the offender's anklet and verifying the offender's location.
Screening and Eligibility
Every candidate for home detention is carefully screened for eligibility. Visits to proposed homes and work sites ensure that sponsors and employers are involved in the offender's program plan. CHDU approval reflects a significant commitment from those offering to help an offender. For example, the residents (usually family members) in an approved residence must agree to:
limit their personal calls and telephone options;
maintain an alcohol and drug-free home; and
remove all firearms from the premises.
CHDU has found that sponsors become actively involved in monitoring home detention participants, alerting staff to potential problems, and immediately reporting violations.
Most inmates in the custody of the Division of Correction are eligible for home detention, if they:
are not serving a life sentence;
have not been convicted of child abuse;
have no documented history of escape;
and are within 90 days of release.
Most parole offenders are eligible for home detention, unless they:
have violated a condition of parole as the result of an arrest or a conviction for a crime of violence;
or have a prior conviction of child abuse.
{If anyone could share more information on this program, it would greatly be appreciated}
http://www.dpscs.state.md.us/doc/prisons.shtml
Executive Director
Robert McWhorter
Address
2100 Guilford Avenue
Baltimore, Maryland 21218
443-263-3800
Information
Overview
In 1990 the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services established the Central Home Detention Unit (CHDU) in response to legislation providing for carefully selected inmates from the Division of Correction to complete the last part of their incarceration in approved private homes. In July 1991, CHDU assumed responsibility for the home monitoring program (sentenced inmates and pretrial detainees) which had been operated by the former Baltimore City Jail. An agreement was reached in January 1992 which provided for individuals referred through the courts in Baltimore City to participate in home detention. Also in 1992, legislation was enacted that allows certain parolees to be placed in home detention.
Assignment to home detention enables offenders to begin rebuilding constructive community and employment relationships by assuming responsibility for their actions, and paying court-ordered restitution. Employed participants in the Department's home detention program are required to pay a supervision fee to offset the cost of their participation.
Rigorous Supervision
Home detention participants are supervised 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In the CHDU office, police communications operators monitor the computer stations continuously. Case managers/parole officers provide ongoing counseling and work placement services. Certified personnel prescribe treatment plans that may include drug/alcohol treatment, education, and crisis intervention counseling. The program also utilizes urinalysis to monitor drug use.
Uniformed and armed enforcement officers and parole agents, trained by the Maryland State Police, patrol in the community and make random home and work site visits. They are authorized to arrest and immediately return violators to custody. ALL program violations prompt a response.
Service Area
Currently, the Department’s home detention program operates in:
All of Baltimore City, and in closely neighboring areas of the following counties:
Baltimore County
Carroll County
Anne Arundel County
Howard County
Harford County
Sophisticated Electronic Monitoring
The Department's electronic monitoring equipment utilizes one of the most secure technologies available. A small radio transmitter is affixed to the offender's ankle. The anklet maintains contact with a verification unit located in the offender's home. This unit connects to the CHDU office's central monitoring station through the home's electrical and telephone systems. If the offender breaks contact with the verification unit, the office is alerted to a violation in progress, and an armed enforcement officer responds to the home.
CHDU's electronic supervision equipment also includes a portable field verifier. Police-style vehicles equipped with these devices patrol through the community making contact with the offender's anklet and verifying the offender's location.
Screening and Eligibility
Every candidate for home detention is carefully screened for eligibility. Visits to proposed homes and work sites ensure that sponsors and employers are involved in the offender's program plan. CHDU approval reflects a significant commitment from those offering to help an offender. For example, the residents (usually family members) in an approved residence must agree to:
limit their personal calls and telephone options;
maintain an alcohol and drug-free home; and
remove all firearms from the premises.
CHDU has found that sponsors become actively involved in monitoring home detention participants, alerting staff to potential problems, and immediately reporting violations.
Most inmates in the custody of the Division of Correction are eligible for home detention, if they:
are not serving a life sentence;
have not been convicted of child abuse;
have no documented history of escape;
and are within 90 days of release.
Most parole offenders are eligible for home detention, unless they:
have violated a condition of parole as the result of an arrest or a conviction for a crime of violence;
or have a prior conviction of child abuse.
{If anyone could share more information on this program, it would greatly be appreciated}
http://www.dpscs.state.md.us/doc/prisons.shtml