Many court-ordered residents at the Rosewood Center will be placed in community homes when the state-run facility for developmentally disabled people closes next year, Maryland health officials said Wednesday.
Plans to move so-called forensic patients — offenders found not competent to stand trial or not criminally responsible for their actions — from Rosewood were outlined to state lawmakers by Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Secretary John Colmers. Of the 30 remaining forensic residents at the center, which will close in June, 17 will be placed in group homes, Colmers said.
“It’s important to note that some of these residents will find their way into the community,” Colmers told members of the House of Delegates’ Health and Government Operations Committee. “Our goal is to find the least restrictive environment for people and that includes those individuals that are court-involved.”
In the future, developmentally disabled offenders will be taken for evaluation to a 10-bed facility in Jessup, where they will remain for no more than three months. From there, they will enter group homes or be transferred to a 22-bed state-run center opening next month at Springfield Hospital in Carroll County’s Sykesville, Colmers said.
The plan has met some resistance from Sykesville residents, but health officials said that they plan to beef up security, and that there are already about 160 court-involved residents at Springfield.
“They have a long-standing history of peaceful coexistence with the community,” said Renata Henry, deputy secretary for behavioral health and disabilities.
Committee members Thursday offered little reaction. After the hearing, Baltimore County Republican Del. Pat McDonough said he has concerns he will address with Colmers in private.
“These people have committed criminal acts,” McDonough said. “And we’re just going to let them back in the community?”
Gov. Martin O’Malley last year ordered Rosewood to be shuttered amid reports of abuse and neglect. Resistance from the family members of some residents — down now to about 130 — concerned about oversight in community-based homes lingers.
On Wednesday, Montgomery County Del. Karen Montgomery said she questions the closure in light of a 16,000-strong wait list for services for Maryland’s developmentally disabled residents.
“People are waiting for new homes,” the Democrat said. “And we’re way down on the percentages for what states spend on disabilities.”
