Clearinghouse coding complete
On July 11, 2008, the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division notified the Governor of Maryland that it was going to conduct an investigation into the conditions and practices at the Rosewood Center ("Rosewood"). Sixth months earlier, the Maryland Governor had announced the State's intention to close Rosewood by June 30, 2009. On October 7, 2009, the Department issued its findings letter to the Governor of Maryland, a few months after Rosewood had officially closed. The investigation was conducted pursuant to the Department's powers under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act.
This was not the first CRIPA Investigation of the Rosewood facility. An earlier investigation, opened in 1980, culminated in a 1985 consent decree entered into to remedy the constitutional deficiencies revealed by the investigation. The Department monitored compliance with that decree until at least 1991, but we do not have any information regarding when exactly that decree ended.
At the time of the 2008 investigation, Rosewood was one of four residential centers operated by the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Administration. It was located in Owings Mills, Maryland, approximately 20 miles outside of Baltimore. Rosewood was licensed as a 257-bed intermediate care facility for individuals with mental retardation.
In this 2008 investigation, the Department found that conditions at Rosewood violated the constitutional and federal statutory rights of its residents. The investigation revealed widespread deficiencies in the provision of services at Rosewood during the time it remained open, including inadequate protection from harm and issues with Rosewood’s behavioral, habilitation, and communication services and healthcare. Although the facility was closed by the time these findings were issued, the Department noted that these deficiencies would likely have ongoing effects that the State would have to take measures to ameliorate.
The investigation also revealed failures in the State's and Rosewood's discharge planning and transition process. The report found that the process through which the State had placed Rosewood's residents out of the facility, as well as the way the State was overseeing those residents' transitions, both substantially departed from generally accepted professional standards and exposed residents to significant risk of harm.
Ultimately, there does not appear to be any litigation that ensued from the investigation. Rosewood was finally closed some time in 2009, and the Department closed its investigation into the facility in 2011.
Summary Authors
Chris Pollack (4/15/2019)
King, Loretta (District of Columbia)
Last updated Aug. 30, 2023, 1:32 p.m.
Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.State / Territory: Maryland
Case Type(s):
Intellectual Disability (Facility)
Key Dates
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.
Plaintiff Type(s):
U.S. Dept of Justice plaintiff
Attorney Organizations:
U.S. Dept. of Justice Civil Rights Division
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA), 42 U.S.C. § 1997 et seq.
Constitutional Clause(s):
Special Case Type(s):
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: None Yet / None
Nature of Relief:
Source of Relief:
Issues
General:
Incident/accident reporting & investigations
Jails, Prisons, Detention Centers, and Other Institutions:
Habilitation (training/treatment)
Placement in mental health facilities
Disability and Disability Rights:
Intellectual/developmental disability, unspecified
Medical/Mental Health:
Intellectual/Developmental Disability
Type of Facility: