Project RESTART Aims to Reduce Repeat Offenders by Increasing Drug Treatment, Education

Contact: Chip Rose
UMBC News
410-455-5793
crose@umbc.edu

Mary Ann Saar, secretary of public safety and correctional services, will speak about Maryland's Project RESTART (Reentry Enforcement Services Targeting Addictions, Rehabilitation and Treatment) on Monday, April 25 at 4 p.m. at the Albin O. Kuhn Library as part of UMBC's Spring 2005 Social Sciences Forum lecture series.

"A New Direction in Corrections" is the theme of Saar's lecture, emphasizing the recent change in philosophy toward the goals of the state's prison system. Saar will talk about the policy implications of RESTART for the future of corrections and parole services and the ways in which the government and communities can collaborate to reduce recidivism.

Project RESTART, an initiative proposed by Governor Ehrlich and developed by Saar to address the issues of reentry and recidivism in Maryland's correctional system, was launched in 2003. The program focuses not only on control and custody in state facilities but on education, substance abuse treatment and reentry support services to address the needs of inmates returning to the community.

For more information about this or other UMBC Social Sciences Forum events, contact Delana Gregg at socsciforum@umbc.edu.