JESSUP, Md. (WMAR) — On Thursday, plans were announced to transform the Brockbridge Correctional Facility in Jessup into a comprehensive Pre-release, Re-entry, and Workforce Development Facility.
The facility will add new research and data driven programs, while expanding services that were available in the past at the pre-release center for women, which closed for budgetary reasons 10 years ago.
Women and men within 18 months of final release who are classified to live in a minimum-security, pre-release environment would be eligible.
Women and men would be separated within the same building,which is designed to accommodate community programs aligning with the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Corrections (DPSCS) focus on re-entry.
Common spaces for co-ed programming under staff supervision will also be created, including workforce development and correctional education programs, in partnership with the Department of Labor.
The new facility would allow private sector prospective employers to provide vocational development opportunities in high-demand occupations, to ensure returning citizens receive intensive training and job skills development designed to help them find specific jobs that are in demand, creating opportunities to more easily adapt back into their neighborhoods.
“Ninety percent of our population will return to the streets of our communities,” said DPSCS Secretary Green, a 35-year corrections veteran who is nationally recognized for his work in re-entry. “There is direct and indisputable evidence that coordinated reentry efforts significantly reduce recidivism and criminogenic behavior, which includes a reduction in violence.”
