Maryland's Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS) operates state prisons and delivers mental health care through its Office of Clinical Services and Mental Health Services, alongside a Social Work Department that handles release planning for those with serious mental illness. Mental health care is provided to community standards and is integrated with medical, dental, and substance use treatment across the full continuum from intake through release.
But Maryland's mental health picture has a persistent accountability layer. Two active federal lawsuits challenge the state's handling of mental illness in its corrections system: a 2021 class action by Disability Rights Maryland (DRM) challenging the placement of seriously mentally ill prisoners in solitary confinement; and a January 2025 DRM lawsuit challenging Maryland's failure to timely transfer defendants found incompetent to stand trial to appropriate treatment facilities. A separate decade-old consent decree (Duvall v. Moore) governing medical and mental health care at Baltimore's central jail shows substantial compliance achieved with only 2 of 10 provisions as of 2024.
At the same time, DPSCS reported in December 2025 that it has opened seven new mental health housing units -- a development intended to shorten the time that seriously mentally ill prisoners spend in restrictive housing.
What Maryland Prisoners Are Entitled To
Under Estelle v. Gamble (1976), the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Maryland law:
- Mental health screening and assessment at intake.
- Mental health treatment to community standards throughout incarceration.
- Mental health care as part of an integrated continuum that includes medical, dental, and substance use treatment.
- Release planning services for those with serious mental illness.
- Protection from deliberate indifference to serious psychiatric needs.
The 2021 DRM lawsuit alleges specific failures in these standards for SMI prisoners in solitary confinement.
Mental Health Screening at Intake
All incoming DPSCS prisoners receive intake screening as part of the Office of Clinical Services' continuum of care "from the point of intake through incarceration, and release to the community." The intake process identifies mental health needs and assigns prisoners to appropriate levels of care.
If your person has a psychiatric history, provide documentation at intake -- prior hospitalizations, diagnoses, and active medications.
The Office of Clinical Services and Mental Health Services
DPSCS's Office of Clinical Services and Mental Health Services, under the authority of the Assistant Secretary of Programs, Treatment, and Reentry, is responsible for treatment delivery across DPSCS facilities. Services are provided in an integrated fashion and include:
Mental health: Assessment, treatment planning, counseling, psychiatric medication management, crisis intervention, and suicide prevention.
Medical health: General medical care to community standards.
Dental health: Dental services.
Substance use treatment: Integrated with mental health care across the continuum.
Treatment programs: Programs addressing criminal behavior.
Release planning assistance: Continuity of care and continued treatment upon release.
DPSCS uses a contractor for mental health services. The contractor provides mental health professionals across DPSCS facilities. The current contractor should be confirmed at publish.
The Seven New Mental Health Housing Units
In a December 2025 statement to WYPR, a DPSCS spokesperson confirmed that the Division of Correction had recently opened seven new mental health housing units. These units are specifically designed to provide mental health housing for seriously mentally ill prisoners, with the stated goal of shortening the time prisoners with mental illness spend in restrictive housing.
This development is a direct response to the ongoing DRM litigation and advocacy around the placement of SMI prisoners in solitary confinement. Whether these seven units are providing the level of care required and are reaching the population most affected by the solitary confinement practices challenged in the 2021 DRM lawsuit should be confirmed at publish.
Patuxent Institution
Patuxent Institution (locations: 6776 Reisterstown Road, Baltimore, MD 21215; and 6852 4th Street, Sykesville, MD 21784; phone 877-379-8636 / 410-585-3300) is Maryland's specialized treatment institution within DPSCS. Opened in 1955, Patuxent's mission has been to ensure public safety through psychotherapeutic treatment of individuals who demonstrated persistent antisocial and criminal behavior. While the mission has evolved over the decades, Patuxent continues to serve as a hub for treatment services within DPSCS, providing specialized programming that extends beyond what is available at standard correctional facilities.
The 2021 DRM Lawsuit: SMI and Solitary Confinement
Disability Rights Maryland filed a federal class action (Case 1:21-cv-02959, D. Md., filed November 18, 2021) against DPSCS challenging the placement of people with serious mental illness (SMI) in solitary confinement.
DRM interviewed over 150 people with SMI in segregation and reviewed thousands of pages of records. Key allegations:
Scale: In 2019, DPSCS placed 812 people with SMI in segregated housing -- more than one-third of the total SMI incarcerated population.
Disproportion: 19.1% of prisoners without serious mental illness were placed in segregation in 2019; the rate for those with SMI was dramatically higher.
Duration: Prisoners with SMI were held in cells approximately the size of a parking space for 22 or more hours per day, with some held for hundreds or over 1,000 days.
Deliberate indifference: The complaint alleges DPSCS was aware of and failed to remedy these conditions, constituting deliberate indifference under the Eighth Amendment.
ADA violations: DPSCS was alleged to be discriminating against people with SMI by placing them in segregation at higher rates than non-SMI prisoners, and by not requiring staff to consider whether behavior is caused by mental illness before placing someone in solitary.
No mental health access: Prisoners in segregation did not have psychiatrists coming to provide care. As Samuel Smalls (who later received a $185,000 settlement for 308 days in solitary) described: "There's no psychiatrists coming to spend time."
The Solitary-Mental Health Nexus in 2024
A December 2025 WYPR investigation documented that disciplinary segregation placements in Maryland prisons rose 38% in 2024 from the prior year -- even as the total prison population continued to fall. Disciplinary segregation accounted for 9,486 placements in 2024, more than two-thirds of all restrictive housing placements.
Samuel Smalls received a $185,000 settlement from DPSCS in November 2025 after spending 308 days in solitary confinement -- a placement that began over a dress code violation (wearing jeans with pockets to court). Smalls noted the lasting mental health impact: "How can you expect somebody to be a social being when you've deprived them of social contact for months and years on end?"
The 2025 DRM IST Lawsuit
On January 9, 2025, Disability Rights Maryland filed a lawsuit against the Maryland Department of Health (MDH) and its Secretary, challenging MDH's failure to timely transfer defendants found incompetent to stand trial (IST) to appropriate treatment facilities as required by Maryland law.
Key allegations: IST defendants were confined in jails for prolonged periods -- including in solitary confinement, in some cases sleeping on the floor -- without access to adequate mental health treatment, medications, counseling, or basic care. This detention caused significant deterioration in physical and mental health. Maryland law requires prompt transfer of IST defendants to appropriate healthcare facilities, and MDH has continuously failed to comply.
This lawsuit is distinct from the DPSCS lawsuit -- it targets the Maryland Department of Health rather than DPSCS, addressing what happens to people before they enter the prison system rather than conditions inside state prisons.
Duvall v. Moore and Baltimore's Central Booking
Duvall v. Moore (D. Md., originally filed 1993 as a class action challenging conditions at Baltimore's Central Booking and Intake Center/CBIC, now known as Duvall v. Moore after multiple defendant name changes through the years) is a long-running consent decree governing medical and mental health care at Baltimore's CBIC pretrial facility.
The most recent version of the decree dates to 2016 with 10 substantive provisions. As of October 2024 -- when the federal court again extended the decree -- DPSCS had achieved substantial compliance with only 2 of the 10 provisions. Judge Matthew J. Maddox granted the extension, finding the state still failing on 8 of 10 provisions after eight years of court-ordered monitoring.
The CBIC is a pretrial detention facility, not a state prison. However, it is operated by DPSCS and provides context for the systemic medical and mental health care challenges across DPSCS facilities.
The Social Work Department and Release Planning
DPSCS's Social Work Department provides specialized release planning for the "special needs population" -- defined to include people with serious mental illness, major medical issues, HIV/AIDS, developmental disabilities, physical disabilities, and those with lengthy sentences.
Social Workers complete a psychosocial assessment of each individual and connect them to:
- Housing in the community.
- Medical care.
- Mental health care.
- Entitlements: medical assistance (Medicaid) and Social Security Income.
- Substance use treatment.
- Job training programs.
- Veterans programs.
- Support groups.
- Other necessary community resources.
Additionally, Social Workers provide cognitive-behavioral group treatment to the entire incarcerated population and short-term, solution-focused individual counseling.
Maryland also passed Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) legislation that went into effect July 1, 2024, with AOT programs launching July 1, 2025. Maryland Code Ann., Health-Gen. § 10-6A-01 through 10-6A-12: AOT provides court-ordered outpatient treatment regimens for people with serious and persistent mental illness. This is a community-side reform, but for prisoners approaching release it creates a potential bridge to structured community mental health engagement.
What Families Can Do
If your person is in DPSCS custody and has a mental illness:
Provide psychiatric history at intake. Supply documentation of prior hospitalizations, diagnoses, and active medications. The Office of Clinical Services' intake process is the initial mental health classification point.
Know the SMI-in-solitary lawsuit. If your person has a serious mental illness and is in segregated or restrictive housing, the 2021 DRM lawsuit (Case 1:21-cv-02959) specifically challenges this practice. Contact Disability Rights Maryland to report conditions and inquire about the class action.
Know the seven new mental health housing units. DPSCS has opened seven mental health housing units across the Division of Correction. If your person has serious mental illness and is in restrictive housing, ask whether placement in one of these dedicated mental health housing units has been considered.
Know the 38% increase in disciplinary segregation. Disciplinary segregation placements rose 38% in 2024. If your person is placed in solitary, document whether their mental illness was considered before or during the placement -- the DRM lawsuit specifically challenges the failure to consider mental illness in segregation placement decisions.
Know the Patuxent option. For specialized psychotherapeutic treatment, ask whether Patuxent Institution placement has been considered for your person.
Ask about Social Work release planning. If your person has serious mental illness and is approaching release, ask DPSCS whether Social Work has conducted a psychosocial assessment and what community mental health providers, housing, and Medicaid supports have been identified. Ask specifically whether AOT (Assisted Outpatient Treatment) has been considered as a reentry support.
File a grievance. DPSCS has an administrative grievance process. File formal grievances for: failure to provide mental health services, placement in solitary without mental illness consideration, denial of mental health housing unit placement, medication interruption, and failure to initiate Social Work release planning.
Contact Disability Rights Maryland. DRM (disabilityrightsmd.org) is the federally mandated Protection and Advocacy organization and has filed both the DPSCS SMI solitary lawsuit and the MDH IST lawsuit. Contact DRM for advocacy on behalf of prisoners with mental illness in DPSCS.
Seek legal help. Given the active DRM class action on SMI in solitary and the ongoing Duvall consent decree at CBIC, families have current litigation frameworks that may support legal action. Consult a prisoner rights attorney with experience in Maryland's federal courts (District of Maryland).
Frequently asked questions
How does Maryland screen prisoners for mental illness?
DPSCS's Office of Clinical Services and Mental Health Services conducts intake screening as part of the integrated healthcare continuum that begins at intake. Incoming prisoners are assessed for mental health, medical, dental, and substance use needs. Provide documentation of psychiatric history at intake -- prior hospitalizations, diagnoses, and active medications. The intake classification determines what level of mental health services the prisoner will receive.
What mental health services does Maryland DPSCS provide?
DPSCS's Office of Clinical Services provides integrated mental health, medical, dental, and substance use treatment to community standards. Mental health services include assessment, treatment planning, counseling, psychiatric medication management, crisis intervention, and suicide prevention. The Social Work Department provides cognitive-behavioral group treatment to all incarcerated individuals and short-term individual counseling. All services are delivered through a continuum from intake through release.
What is Patuxent Institution's mental health role?
Patuxent Institution (Baltimore and Sykesville, Maryland) is DPSCS's specialized treatment hub, opened in 1955 with a mission of psychotherapeutic treatment. It provides specialized treatment programming beyond what is available at standard correctional facilities. Patuxent serves as the hub for treatment services within DPSCS, making it a potential referral destination for prisoners whose mental health needs require more intensive or specialized care than their assigned facility can provide.
What is the DRM lawsuit about SMI and solitary in Maryland?
Disability Rights Maryland filed a federal class action (Case 1:21-cv-02959, D. Md., November 2021) challenging DPSCS's practice of placing people with serious mental illness in solitary confinement. DRM interviewed 150+ people with SMI in segregation and reviewed thousands of records. Key findings: 812 people with SMI placed in segregation in 2019 (>1/3 of all SMI prisoners); SMI prisoners held in segregation at dramatically higher rates than non-SMI prisoners; stays of hundreds to 1,000+ days; no psychiatric access in segregation; deliberate indifference to serious mental health needs; ADA violations through discriminatory segregation placement.
What are Maryland's new mental health housing units?
As of a December 2025 DPSCS statement, the Division of Correction had opened seven new mental health housing units. These units are specifically designed for seriously mentally ill prisoners and are intended to shorten the time such prisoners spend in restrictive housing. They represent a direct response to ongoing DRM litigation and advocacy. Whether these units are meeting the needs of the SMI population they are intended to serve should be confirmed at publish.
What is the Duvall v. Moore consent decree about?
Duvall v. Moore (D. Md., originally filed 1993) is a class action and consent decree governing medical and mental health care at Baltimore's Central Booking and Intake Center (CBIC), a DPSCS-operated pretrial facility. The most recent version of the decree (2016) has 10 substantive provisions. As of October 2024, DPSCS had achieved substantial compliance with only 2 of the 10 provisions after eight years of court monitoring, and the court again extended the decree. This long-running compliance failure at the pretrial level reflects systemic challenges in DPSCS medical and mental health care delivery.
What is the 2025 DRM IST lawsuit against Maryland?
On January 9, 2025, Disability Rights Maryland filed suit against the Maryland Department of Health (not DPSCS) challenging MDH's failure to timely transfer defendants found incompetent to stand trial (IST) to appropriate treatment facilities as required by Maryland law. IST defendants were being held in jails for prolonged periods -- some in solitary confinement, some on the floor -- without adequate mental health care, medications, or counseling, causing significant deterioration. Maryland law requires prompt transfer of IST defendants to healthcare facilities; MDH was not complying.
What does DPSCS Social Work do for mental health release?
DPSCS's Social Work Department provides comprehensive release planning for the special needs population, which explicitly includes people with serious mental illness. Social Workers conduct psychosocial assessments and connect prisoners to housing, medical care, mental health care, Medicaid and SSI entitlements, substance use treatment, job training, veterans programs, and support groups. The Social Work Department also provides cognitive-behavioral group treatment to all incarcerated individuals and short-term individual counseling services.
What can families do if mental health care is denied in MD?
Provide psychiatric documentation at intake. Know the DRM solitary lawsuit -- if your person has SMI and is in segregation, contact Disability Rights Maryland (disabilityrightsmd.org). Know the seven new mental health housing units -- ask whether your person has been assessed for placement. Know the Patuxent Institution option for specialized treatment. Ask about Social Work's psychosocial assessment and release planning, including AOT consideration. File DPSCS grievances for mental health service denials, segregation without mental illness review, medication interruptions, and release planning failures.
Who oversees mental health care in Maryland prisons?
DPSCS's Office of Clinical Services and Mental Health Services (under the Assistant Secretary of Programs, Treatment, and Reentry) manages mental health care internally. DPSCS uses a contracted private mental health services provider for clinical delivery. Disability Rights Maryland (DRM, disabilityrightsmd.org) is the federally mandated P&A organization and is active plaintiff in the SMI-solitary class action. The federal court in the Duvall v. Moore consent decree (CBIC) exercises ongoing judicial oversight over pretrial facility medical and mental health care. The Maryland Department of Health (MDH) oversees state psychiatric hospitals and the new AOT program. ---
Discovery Offer - Silos 1-2
Search arrest records and find out where they are
If you're trying to locate someone who was arrested or find out where they are being held, TruthFinder searches arrest records, court records, and custody status across all 50 states.