Carolyn J. Scruggs - Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services
Toussaint Jimenez Rojas - STV
In 2019, after decades of litigation and calls for change, Maryland set out to revolutionize the justice experience in Baltimore, focusing on the critical medical, mental health, and addiction treatment needs of people brought to the Baltimore City Pretrial Complex. Managed by Maryland Department of General Services, this initiative confronts the daily challenges of treating individuals with chronic medical conditions, serious mental illness (SMI), and opioid addiction in a system currently without adequate resources. The new Baltimore Therapeutic Treatment Center (BTTC) emerges as a pioneering national model, providing humane environments that address individual needs, fostering prosocial behavior, desistance from crime, and supporting more fulfilling lives. Prioritizing deflection, diversion, treatment, and reintegration into the community, the BTTC aims to transform the impact of the justice system experience on a person's life. With design nearly complete, the project will enhance community justice, health, and safety in Baltimore, addressing long-standing needs. The Secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, alongside the architect, will unveil this model, centering the value of employing trauma-informed and biophilic design principles to create a safe and normalized environment, and leveraging a medical-model-driven architecture to foster healing for the patients, and to support a thriving community
700 Aliceanna Street
Baltimore, MD 21202
United States