Maryland officials say public safety compact to continue

(AP) – Maryland officials say an initiative to enable qualified inmates from Baltimore to be released early after completing substance-abuse treatment will continue, even though an agreement with a nonprofit has expired.

Stephen Moyer, the state’s public safety and corrections head, said Friday the department will be able to carry on with the initiative known as the Public Safety Compact without the nonprofit it has been working with since 2008. The program requires inmates to participate in community re-entry initiatives.
    
Moyer says it’s a good program, but funding was stopped because it violated state contracting guidelines.
    
Chris Shank, director of the Governor’s Office of Crime and Control and Prevention, says a statewide evaluation of how to save money in public safety and corrections is considering programs like the compact for statewide use.