Charles County Detention Center

Address: 6905 Crain Hwy, La Plata, MD 20646 | Telephone: (301) 932-3100

Services are Available Only to Detention Center Clients.  

The Charles County Public Library has entered into a new partnership with the Charles County Detention Center to open a fully operational library within the Detention Center to serve incarcerated individuals. Charles County Detention Center Library operates as a branch of the Charles County Public Library system and offers free and equal access to services and resources to help the inmate population find the general and legal information they need to improve and enrich their lives and enable their successful re-entry into the community.  A wide variety of reading materials are available, comprising a collection of fiction and nonfiction titles in paperback formats. Individuals at the Detention Center have access to library materials on a weekly basis and will be provided with educational workshop opportunities throughout the year, provided by Charles County Public Library staff. Additionally, these individuals are also provided a library card that they can utilize at any of our branches upon release, with the intention that through this service provided, they will feel welcome and empowered to utilize the library’s free resources to help enrich their lives as they navigate reentering society. 

Detention Center Location Services

  • The Charles County Detention Center Library provides incarcerated individuals access to recreational, educational, and legal materials in order to improve and enrich their lives as well as to facilitate successful community reentry. The library contains paperback fiction and non-fiction books, including materials in several languages. 
  • Library services are provided to individuals at the Detention Center Library on a weekly basis which allows the individuals to borrow books and help find resources for legal information. 
  • Modified library service will be provided as possible according to federal, state, and/or local government emergency mandates.  

The Storybook Program is a program aimed at promoting early childhood literacy and fostering a connection between incarcerated individuals who have young children at home that they are separated from. During these programs, library staff will meet with incarcerated individuals while they record themselves reading a recordable children’s book that is provided by the library. After the book is recorded, library staff take the book and package it up with an accompanying stuffed animal and other library resource materials and place it in a Charles County Public Library branded tote bag. Library staff will coordinate with the families of the incarcerated individuals to pick up the storybook gift bag at the library. Once children receive their recorded books, they can open their new book and read along to a story while hearing their parents’ voices, at any time.

Skillready Workshops are classes that take place at the Detention Center and are facilitated by CCPL staff. The focus of these workshops is to support digital literacy skills and workforce readiness for returning citizens. These programs are offered on a routine basis and cover topics like resume writing, digital literacy skills, how to utilize free database resources, and more. 

How to support this project: Our greatest need for this project at present is monetary support to assist with the cost of materials to carry out programs, such as the storybook program and skill ready workshops, as well as assist with the general costs associated with providing library services. Your donation would also ensure this portion of our community is served. Donations to this project would support this effort in the following ways:

  • Purchasing recordable books, stuffed animals, and shipping costs (we ship these items to families with barriers in accessing the physical library) for the Storybook Program. 
  • Purchasing workbooks for Skillready Workshops and purchasing supplemental class materials and technologies to support programs (such as laptops or books for book discussion programs).
  • Assisting with the general expenses of sustaining this service, such as purchasing books for the collection and library equipment to carry out these services and other needs that arise.   

At this time, we are not able to accept book donations for this project, as the steps to get materials processed in the system would cost us more than purchasing new materials. Additionally, due to the limited space, we have for library materials, we want to ensure the collection is reflective of the needs of the individuals being served and is carefully selected and curated by our Collection Development team. Additionally, due to security concerns, we are not seeking volunteers to assist with the library at the Detention Center, though there could be opportunities in the future. 

Anyone who would like to support the Charles County Detention Center Library is encouraged to donate through our Web site.  Additionally, anyone wanting to make a donation to support this project can also contact our Development Manager, Shannon Bland, at sbland[at]ccplonline[dot]org for more information.

Charles County Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service

Phone: (301) 609-9350

  • No pro bono or reduced fee programs are available. Criminal and personal injury cases are handled on a contingency fee basis. If you have financial resources, call to see if they can handle your case type.

Power Inside
P.O. Box 4796
Baltimore, MD 21211
Phone: (410) 889-8333
Website: www.powerinside.org

  • Power Inside offers the following services for women during incarceration and post-release: individual assessment and referrals; case management; weekly support groups and workshops for women in jail, prison, and the community; peer support, referrals, and self-help materials for women in prison through the mail; and advocacy and support for women in prison as well as women on parole, probation, and who are awaiting trial. All services are free of charge and available to any woman who contacts Power Inside.

ACLU of Maryland
3600 Clipper Mill Road, Ste. 350
Baltimore, MD 21211
Phone: (410) 889-8555
Fax: (410) 366-7838
E-mail: aclu[at]aclu-md[dot]org
Website: www.aclu-md.org


Stephen Price, M.A.,M.S.
8555 Sixteenth St. Suite 200
Silver Spring, MD  20910
Phone: (301) 563-6299
Fax: (301) 563-6366
Contact: stephen.price[at]justiceandhealing[dot]com

  • Counseling program serving sexual offenders, sex addicts, and adult trauma victims.

Supporting Ex-Offenders in Employment Training and Transitional Services
222 East Redwood Street
Baltimore, MD
Phone: (410) 837-1800 
Website: www.goodwillches.org


Maryland Department of Labor
1100 Eutaw Street,
6th Floor Baltimore, MD
Phone: (410) 767-2999
Website: www.dlir.state.md.us.com


Work Release Program
Maryland Division of Correction Headquarters
6776 Reisterstown Road
Baltimore, MD 21215
Phone: (410) 585-3300, ext. 6776
Website: www.dpscs.state.md.us


Living Classrooms Foundation
James Piper Bond, President and Chief Executive Officer
802 South Caroline Street
Baltimore, MD 21231
Phone: (410) 685-0295
Fax: (410) 752-8433
Email: james[at]livingclassrooms[dot]org
Website: www.livingclassrooms.org

  • The Living Classrooms Foundation (LCF) uses maritime settings to provide hands-on education and job training, with a special emphasis on juvenile offenders, at-risk youth, and groups from diverse backgrounds. The Fresh Start Program serves out-of-school youth and juvenile offenders ages 16-19 whose needs are not being met by state and local education agencies. Participants complete a 9-month carpentry course and focus on developing professional and interpersonal skills. Most of Fresh Start’s activities are conducted at LCF’s East Harbor Campus, a 2-acre facility on the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, MD. The program is recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor as a Promising and Effective Practices Network (PEPNet) awardee. A detailed profile of the program is available at www.nyec.org/pepnet/awardees/fresh.htm.

Maryland Re-Entry Partnership Initiative
City Hall, Room 250
100 North Holliday Street
Baltimore, MD 21202
Phone: (410) 396-3835
Fax: (410) 576-9425
Email: tomi.hiers[at]baltimorecity[dot]gov
Website: www.ci.baltimore.md.us/government/mocj/reentry.html

  • This pilot program seeks to provide a seamless, comprehensive network of services to ex-offenders to ensure their successful transition from prison to the community. The Bureau of Governmental Research (http://www.bgr.umd.edu/reentry.html), located at the University of Maryland, is conducting a 2-year multisite evaluation of the Reentry Partnership Initiative.

Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland
520 West Fayette Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21201
Phone: (410) 837-9379 or (800) 396-1274
Fax: (410) 385-2616
Email: pbrc[at]probonomd[dot]org
Website: http://www.probonomd.org/


Legal Aid Bureau Inc.
500 East Lexington Street
Baltimore, MD 21202
Phone: (410) 539-5340
Website: www.mdlab.org

  • Free legal service assistance.

US Department of Justice
Website: http://www.usdoj.gov/eoir/probono/freelglchtMD.htm

  • The following organizations and attorneys provide free legal services and/or referrals for such services to indigent individuals in immigration removal proceedings, pursuant to 8 CFR §1003.61. Some of these organizations may also charge a nominal fee for legal services to certain low-income individuals.

Thurgood Marshall State Law Library
361 Rowe Boulevard
Annapolis MD 21401
Phone: 410-260-1430 | (toll free) 888-216-8156
Email: LAWLIBRARY[at]MDCOURTS[dot]GOV

Website: https://mdcourts.gov/lawlib

  • The Thurgood Marshall State Law Library, a court-related agency of the Maryland Judiciary, serves the needs of Maryland’s government and citizens by building and preserving collections of legal information resources, promoting access to these collections, and creating educational opportunities that enhance the understanding of legal information.