# COMAR Title 12 — Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services ## Subtitle 14 — Commission on Correctional Standards ### Chapter 01 — Administrative Procedures **Authority:** Correctional Services Article, §§4-214 and 9-616 and Title 8, Subtitle 1, Annotated Code of Maryland **Administrative History:** Effective date: April 26, 1982 (9:8 Md. R. 823) **Administrative History:** Regulations .06—.08 adopted effective January 2, 1983 (9:26 Md. R. 2573) **Administrative History:** Regulations .01—.08 repealed and new Regulations .01—.10 adopted effective November 25, 1991 (18:23 Md. R. 2488) **Administrative History:** Regulation .01 repealed and new Regulation .01 adopted effective December 4, 1995 (22:24 Md. R. 1900) **Administrative History:** Regulation .01B amended effective November 18, 2019 (46:23 Md. R. 1066) **Administrative History:** Regulation .02C amended effective October 4, 2010 (37:20 Md. R. 1394) #### Regulation .01 Definitions. *COMAR 12.14.01.01* A. In this subtitle, the following terms have the meanings indicated. B. Terms Defined. (1) “Administration of medications” means the act of giving a single dose of a prescribed or over-the-counter drug to an inmate according to established guidelines. (2) “Administrative segregation” means a form of physical separation of an inmate from the general population determined by the classification process or authorized personnel when the continued presence of an inmate in the general population would pose a serious threat to: (a) Life; (b) Property; (c) Self; (d) Staff or other inmates; (e) The security or orderly functioning of the facility; or (f) The well-being of society. (3) “Adult community correctional facility” means a community-based program operated by local government, State government, or a private corporation under contract with a jurisdiction providing a group residence and special treatment services for sentenced and unsentenced inmates. (4) “Adult correctional institution” means the Patuxent Institution or a facility operated by the Division of Correction for the confinement of sentenced inmates. (5) “Adult detention center” means a facility operated by State or local government for the detention of an inmate pending adjudication and for the confinement of sentenced inmates, except for the Patuxent Institution or a facility operated by the Division of Correction. (6) “Adult place of confinement” means a State, local, or private adult community correctional facility, adult correctional institution, or adult detention center. (7) “Adverse job action” means a disruption to the normal operation of an institution by concerted action or inaction of facility employees. (8) “Annual” means an action or activity performed each calendar year at intervals of 12 months. (9) “Appeal” means a formal request for review of an action or decision by a higher authority. (10) “Applicable statute” means approved legislation or formal regulation which governs a particular activity, operation, or function. (11) “Approved standards” means those specifications in the following areas that apply to State adult correctional facilities and that may be adopted, in whole or in part, for use by a local adult correctional facility: (a) Administration; (b) Counseling; (c) Education and vocational training; (d) Inmate property control; (e) Inmate work programs; (f) Library services; (g) Mail and visiting; (h) Management; (i) Personnel; (j) Physical plant; (k) Planning and coordination; (l) Reception and orientation; (m) Recreational activities; (n) Release preparation; (o) Religious services; (p) Research and evaluation; (q) Rules and discipline; (r) Special management inmates; (s) Training; and (t) Volunteers. (12) “Audit” means an inspection of an adult place of correctional confinement by the Commission on Correctional Standards. (13) “Audit team” means Commission staff and other duly authorized inspectors. (14) “Authorized personnel” means an employee of the facility or agency empowered by the managing official to carry out designated tasks, duties, responsibilities, or functions. (15) “Authorized representative of the State Fire Marshal” means an employee of a local fire agency who has been empowered to fulfill the duties and perform the functions of the Office of the State Fire Marshal in that jurisdiction. (16) “Body cavity search” means a procedure performed by qualified health care personnel by which internal cavities of the body including anal, vaginal, oral, nasal, and aural areas are physically examined either manually or by instrument to check for the presence of contraband. (17) “Case records” means information concerning an inmate's personal, criminal, and medical history, behavior, and activities while incarcerated, which may include, but is not limited to: (a) Classification actions; (b) Commitment papers; (c) Court orders; (d) Detainers; (e) Disciplinary reports and hearings results; (f) Fingerprints; (g) Miscellaneous correspondence; (h) Personal property receipts; (i) Photographs; (j) Program activity reports; (k) Progress notes; (l) Record of complaints; (m) Release of information consent forms; (n) Visitor's list; and (o) Work assignments. (18) “Caustic material” means a substance capable of corroding, dissolving, or destroying by chemical action or reaction. (19) “Certification” means a written document indicating that an individual or agency has complied with the formal requirements of an authorizing organization, body, or association which permits the individual or agency to perform specified activities. (20) “Chairman” means the Chairman of the Commission on Correctional Standards. (21) “Chemical agent” means an active substance used to deter activities that might cause personal injury or property damage. (22) “Classification” means a formal, comprehensive, and continuing process by which an inmate is assessed for risk and needs, and assigned to programs and services, a level of security, and degree of supervision in relation to existing resources. (23) “Commission” means the Maryland Commission on Correctional Standards. (24) “Compliance criteria” means those elements that auditors require to determine compliance. (25) “Compliance explanation” means an interpretation of the compliance criteria to assist in understanding the intent of the standards and methods of meeting them. (26) “Contraband” means an item, material, or substance that is not authorized by the managing official. (27) “Controlled substance” means a medication that requires a written prescription listing the prescribing physician's or dentist's Drug Enforcement Administration registration number. (28) “Deadly force” means the force that a trained and authorized professional employee uses with the purpose of causing, or which the authorized professional employee knows will create, a substantial risk of death or serious bodily harm. (29) “Disciplinary detention” means a form of physical separation in which an inmate found guilty at a disciplinary hearing is confined apart from the general population for a designated period of time. (30) “Disciplinary hearing” means an impartial, nonjudicial, administrative procedure to determine if substantial evidence exists to find an inmate guilty of a rule violation. (31) “Dispensing medication” means the act of preparing a prescription drug by the issuance of one or more doses from a stock or bulk container by authorized health care personnel. (32) “Disturbance” means a situation which disrupts the normal operational order of an institution, and for which the assistance of additional off-duty staff may be required. (33) “Duly authorized inspector” means an individual designated to perform an audit under the authority of the Secretary. (34) “Emergency” means a situation occurring within a facility or its property requiring the deployment of resources to save lives, protect public safety and property, ensure the proper level of security, or avert or lessen the severity of the situation. (35) “Emergency communications system” means equipment which may be used to contact on short notice local and State law enforcement, a rescue or safety agency, and facility personnel to respond to a crisis situation. (36) “Emergency medical services” means care for an acute illness, serious injury, or other unexpected health care need that cannot be delayed, and which is provided by qualified health care personnel, a local ambulance service, or a hospital emergency room or health care clinic. (37) “Escape” means unauthorized departure of an inmate from a place of lawful confinement or custody. (38) “Evacuation” means to move inmates, staff, and visitors from a threatened area of hazard to a safe, secure location. (39) “Exclusionary offense” means: (a) An act alleged to have been committed or committed by a child 14 years old or older which, if committed by an adult, would be a crime punishable by death or life imprisonment; or (b) A robbery or attempted robbery with a dangerous or deadly weapon. (40) “Executive Director” means the Executive Director of the Commission. (41) “Exercise” means a scheduled out-of-cell or out-of-room activity, including individual or team sports, and indoor or outdoor opportunities. (42) “Facility perimeter” means the outer portion of a correctional facility and grounds that provides the secure confinement of inmates. (43) “Formal internal complaint system” means the method by which an inmate may address a grievance to the appropriate authority regarding circumstances or actions considered to be unjust. (44) “General population” means inmates assigned to a custody status absent restrictions with respect to programs, services, and opportunities. (45) “Governing authority” means: (a) The Commissioner of Correction with reference to adult places of confinement under the jurisdiction of the Division of Correction; (b) A county sheriff with reference to adult places of confinement under the jurisdiction of the sheriff; or (c) The highest executive authority having jurisdiction over any other State or local adult place of confinement. (46) “Health trained” means correctional personnel who have been instructed to carry out specific duties with regard to the performance of certain health care functions. (47) “Indigent” means an inmate with limited funds and insufficient resources necessary to provide for basic needs. (48) “Initial reception facility” means a correctional facility where an inmate is first admitted for processing from police custody, a court lockup, or other holding facility. (49) “Inmate” means an individual in pretrial, unsentenced, or sentenced status who is lawfully confined in a correctional facility. (50) “Inspection” means the observation or examination of an item to assess its condition and utility. (51) “Inventory” means a detailed listing used to determine the presence of certain items during a specified period of time. (52) “Juvenile” means an individual under the age of majority who has not been adjudicated as an adult or who has not committed an exclusionary offense. (53) “Legal mail” means correspondence between an inmate and: (a) The courts; (b) Legal counsel; and (c) Other judicial, legislative, and executive authorities specifically designated as privileged. (54) “Managing official” means the individual responsible for the administration and operation of a correctional facility. (55) “Mandatory standards” means those rules in the following areas that apply to State and local adult correctional facilities: (a) Administrative record keeping; (b) Classification; (c) Food services; (d) Hearings; (e) Inmate rights; (f) Inmate safety; and (g) Security and inmate control. (56) “Medical isolation” means the physical housing of an inmate apart from the general population based on a medical judgement or diagnostic decision rendered by qualified health care personnel. (57) “Medical screening” means a system of structured observation and formal health assessment by qualified health care personnel or a trained individual to identify an individual who poses a health or safety threat to himself or herself, or to others. (58) “Menstrual hygiene products” has the meaning stated in Correctional Services Article, §§4-214 and 9-616, Annotated Code of Maryland. (59) “Person in interest” means an individual who is the subject of a record or a representative designated by the person in interest. (60) Personal Hygiene Article. (a) “Personal hygiene article” means an item used by an individual to clean the individual’s body or clothing, and to preserve sanitary conditions, as well as overall health. (b) “Personal hygiene article” includes, but is not limited to deodorant, shaving items for males, shampoo, soap, tooth brush, and tooth paste. (61) “Physical examination” means a thorough evaluation of a patient's current physical condition and medical history by authorized health care personnel. (62) “Physical force” means the minimal amount of physical contact used by trained and authorized correctional personnel to control an individual's behavior and enforce or restore order. (63) “Policy” means a statement of guiding principles approved by the appropriate authority which determines the general direction of present or future decisions and actions of correctional facility personnel toward the attainment of stated goals and objectives. (64) “Post orders” means a list of general job functions, duties, tasks, and responsibilities required of each duty position. (65) “Procedure” means the detailed and sequential set of steps or actions to ensure the implementation of approved policy. (66) “Protective custody” means a form of separation from the general population for an inmate requesting or requiring protection from others, or for reasons of health or safety. (67) “Protocol” means a written order that specifies the steps to be taken in appraising an individual's physical status. (68) “Qualified health care personnel” means a physician, dentist, psychiatrist, psychologist, nurse, physician's assistant, nurse practitioner, pharmacist, and other professional individual licensed, registered, or certified according to State requirements. (69) “Records retention schedule” means an official document listing and describing all of the records of a facility or agency, and providing authorization for the destruction of those records that are not essential to the facility's or agency's operation after the lapse of a stated period of time, and for permanent maintenance of those records considered to be of enduring value. (70) “Responding agencies and organizations” means a body which is identified in the emergency plans as potentially involved in or responsible for the implementation of a portion of these plans. (71) “Secretary” means the Secretary of Public Safety and Correctional Services. (72) “Security round” means a tour, check, or other action in which correctional personnel walk through the facility, particularly inmate living and activity areas, to observe inmate behavior, monitor security and safety equipment, conduct informal searches, and note irregularities or unusual circumstances. (73) “Sick call” means the medical care provided an inmate who: (a) Has expressed a need for nonemergency medical attention through an established request system; and (b) Is evaluated and treated in a clinical setting. (74) “Standard” means an instrument to measure comparison for quantitative or qualitative value according to established guidelines as stated in COMAR 12.14. (75) “Standing order” means a written medical instruction that specifies the same course of treatment for each individual suspected of having a given condition. (76) “Strip search” means an observation of an inmate's unclothed body to determine the presence of contraband. (77) “Toxic material” means a substance that directly or through chemical reaction or mixture can produce possible injury or harm to the body through the skin, digestive tract, or respiratory tract. (78) “Trained personnel” means an individual receiving required information for which documentation can be produced. (79) “Training” means the formal process by which staff are made aware or informed of essential duties and responsibilities. #### Regulation .02 Audits—General. *COMAR 12.14.01.02* A. Adherence to minimum standards for adult detention centers, adult community correctional facilities, and adult correctional institutions shall be determined by auditing procedures approved by the Commission and published in a standards manual. B. Audit teams consisting of selected and trained individuals employed in the field of criminal justice at the local and State levels shall be used in conjunction with staff of the Maryland Commission on Correctional Standards. These teams shall be led by a Commission staff member. C. Audits of adult correctional institutions, adult detention centers, and adult community correctional facilities shall be conducted at least every 3 years and shall be announced. #### Regulation .03 Preaudit Activities. *COMAR 12.14.01.03* A. Audits shall be arranged to allow for the timely, complete, and accurate submission by the managing official of required documents to the Commission office. B. The Executive Director shall distribute to the managing official at least 60 days before the scheduled on-site visit the materials necessary for audit preparation. C. The managing official shall forward to the Commission office the materials in §B of this regulation at least 30 days before the on-site visit for consideration by the Commission staff and other authorized inspectors. D. The Executive Director shall designate audit team composition, assign individual regulations to be evaluated by team members, and arrange for the prompt dissemination of appropriate documentation and related information to the authorized inspectors for their review. E. The specific dates of the on-site visit shall be determined by the Executive Director in concert with the managing official and shall take into consideration the availability of authorized inspectors. #### Regulation .04 On-Site Audit Activities. *COMAR 12.14.01.04* A. The audit team shall meet with the managing official and designated facility personnel, upon arrival, to hold an entrance interview for the purpose of providing a tentative schedule of audit activities, explaining the inspection process, and answering questions. B. The audit team shall perform a complete tour of the facility and grounds to observe the state of cleanliness and repair, and assess the totality of conditions. C. The audit team shall hold discussions with facility staff and inmates according to established guidelines during the course of the on-site visit to determine their perspective regarding standards-related matters. D. The audit team members shall review documentation presented to substantiate compliance with those regulations assigned to them. E. The audit team leader shall review and discuss the preliminary compliance decisions with each team member to confirm the findings. F. The audit team shall meet with the managing official and designated facility personnel to hold an exit conference for the purpose of summarizing the audit results. #### Regulation .05 Post-Audit Activities. *COMAR 12.14.01.05* A. The audit team leader shall review and discuss the audit results with the Executive Director before formalization of the findings. B. The audit team leader shall issue a report to the managing official for review and comment within 30 days of completion of the audit. C. The Executive Director shall submit the final report and compliance plan to the Commission for consideration and approval within 60 days of completion of the audit. D. The Executive Director shall disseminate the final report and compliance plan to the specified distribution within 15 days of the Commission's approval. E. The Commission staff shall routinely monitor the approved compliance plan. F. The managing official shall submit a written request to the Commission for modification of the compliance deadlines, when initial plans for corrective action cannot be met, for formal consideration at the next regularly scheduled Commission meeting. G. If approved, the Commission shall issue a revised plan for corrective action. H. If disapproved, the Commission may conduct a hearing according to established procedures to determine whether certain facility functions, operations, or practices should be limited or discontinued, the facility closed, or other appropriate actions taken. I. The Executive Director shall recommend to the Commission, at a regularly scheduled meeting, the presentation of the recognition of achievement award to a facility which has attained total compliance within 1 year of the approval of the compliance plan. J. For a facility which does not achieve 100 percent compliance within 1 year, Commission staff shall continue to monitor the correction of noted deficiencies until the next scheduled audit. #### Regulation .06 Compliance Exemptions. *COMAR 12.14.01.06* A. Nonapplicability. A standard is not applicable to the operation of an adult place of confinement if sufficient material elements of the standard make the application clearly not relevant. Audit team members shall determine nonapplicability during the audit process. B. Variance. If a standard which applies to the operation of an adult place of confinement is determined to be in noncompliance, but the managing official feels the plan of corrective action inappropriate to facility management, a request for variance shall be made in writing to the Commission for consideration at the next regularly scheduled meeting. #### Regulation .07 Appeals. *COMAR 12.14.01.07* If the managing official disagrees with a compliance decision, the managing official may submit an appeal in writing to the Executive Director before formal consideration of the final report and compliance plan. If the Executive Director confirms the audit team finding, the managing official may present a written appeal to the Commission for the Commission's consideration at the next regularly scheduled meeting. #### Regulation .08 Technical Assistance. *COMAR 12.14.01.08* To the extent possible in the budget, the Commission staff shall provide technical assistance to facilities in noncompliance with standards. Assistance shall be provided directly and by referral to other resources. #### Regulation .09 Life-Threatening or Health-Endangering Conditions. *COMAR 12.14.01.09* A. Upon detection or identification of a life-threatening or health-endangering practice or condition as determined by the audit team leader, the Executive Director or designee may give verbal notice to the managing official to immediately cease a practice or condition or may order the facility closed. Written notice shall be forwarded within 24 hours by the person giving the notice or order to the managing official with copies to the executive authority of the jurisdiction, the Secretary, and the Commission Chairman. B. Within 96 hours of the verbal notice of order, the Commission shall convene a hearing, according to established procedures, for the purpose of reviewing and confirming or countermanding the order. #### Regulation .10 Authority of the Secretary. *COMAR 12.14.01.10* The Secretary may, at the Secretary's discretion, exercise any of the powers of the Commission pursuant to Correctional Services Article, §2-113, Annotated Code of Maryland.