arise on the very ground we are now standing on, was conceived,
planned and will be completed during my term as Governor. This is
a much-needed facility, and will give the Department the opportunity
to intensify its activities among our youthful offenders; thereby broad-
ening and increasing the knowledge of departmental personnel in this
vital area. Thus this facility will better enable the Department of
Correction to fulfill its objectives.

The present Administration has long been cognizant of the problems
arising in the correctional field and has devoted considerable time
and effort to a thorough study of these problems during the past
several years. I am happy, therefore, to see final steps being taken
towards the solution of one of our more pressing problems. As I said,
we have long realized the urgency for renewed and up-to-date methods
in the rehabilitation of our young violators. We purposely waited,
however, until we were absolutely certain that we had found the best
possible solution to this involved problem: then we acted quickly and
decisively.

This institution will be a completely modern treatment facility and
will house a classification section which is an innovation in Maryland's
prison system. It will accommodate 1000 prisoners and is expandable
to a capacity of 1200. The purpose of this installation is the application
of contemporary approved correctional techniques to the study of
prisoners in the 16 to 25 age group and the evaluation of their po-
tentialities prior to assignment to appropriate rehabilitative treatment
programs. The classification section will receive prisoners in this age
group as they are sentenced by the courts. There they will spend
between 2 to 8 weeks under the scrutiny of psychiatrists, psychologists
and penal experts before reassignment to one of Maryland's five major
facilities for youthful male offenders. The institutional program of
the classification section features individualized treatment and intensive
classification methods. It places particular emphasis on rehabilitation
through academic and vocational training; diversified employment, and
through counseling, guidance and religious activities. Other techniques
include group and individual psychotherapy preparation for parole and
recreation.

So you can see, no stone has been left unturned in attempting to
discover the potentialities of these prisoners, to properly classify them
and then to rehabilitate them so that they may be returned as useful
citizens to our society. This plan may have been a while in reaching its
fruition. The thought and study made necessary by such an ambitious
program, however, cannot help but result in sound and worthwhile

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