The Detention Dilemma: What We Ask of Local Jails

On the latest episode of the Conduit Street Podcast, Charles County Detention Center Director Brandon Foster joins Sarah Sample and Kevin Kinnally to discuss the progress and ongoing challenges to serve the growing needs of inmates in county jails, tackling persistent issues with recruitment and retention, and innovations to foster meaningful rehabilitation and successful reentry.Each county operates a local jail with inmates awaiting trial and those sentenced to 18 months or less. Despite a persistent lag in State funding, county jails provide education, health/mental health care, substance use disorder counseling, medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorders, anger management, housing, employment, transition counseling, and a host of other services.Director Foster is a 26-year veteran of the CCDC. He began his career in 1997 as a line staff correctional officer. Shortly after, he became a Southern Maryland Criminal Justice Academy staff instructor.He was promoted to Sergeant in 2004 and supervised recruits in training, and he later served as a sector supervisor in the Custody and Security Section. In 2006, he was promoted to Lieutenant, overseeing a team of officers assigned to the Custody and Security Section. In 2014, Foster was named deputy director of the CCDC and later was named acting director until he was appointed director in 2016.Before joining the CCDC, Director Foster served in the United States Marine Corps as a Staff Sergeant; he was on active duty from 1990 to 1995 and in the Reserves from 2003 until 2007.The Conduit Street Podcast is available on major platforms like Spotify, Apple, Google, and more. Episodes are also available on MACo's Conduit Street blog.Listen to previous episodes of the Conduit Street Podcast on our website.Useful LinksPrevious Conduit Street Coverage: Undoing Institutionalized Bias in Jails is Worthy and ComplicatedPrevious Conduit Street Coverage: 2023 End of Session Wrap-Up: Public Safety and Corrections