The second, though, pertains to those PRPs themselves. Last July, the Maryland Behavioral Health Administration had to place a moratorium on the growing number of PRPs because there are now so many of them that state oversight of quality was becoming problematic. The pause is still in effect in Baltimore and nine counties.
The first PRPs in Maryland were established in the late 1970s and early 1980s by visionaries who were convinced that, with the proper support, most men and women with even the most disabling mental illnesses could live productive lives in community settings and outside the back wards of state institutions. That has proven to be the case for thousands of Marylanders and for people with psychiatric disabilities across the country.
As PRP services grew over time, advocates, community providers and state agency staff collaborated year after year on enhanced regulations and outcome measures to maximize quality. One of the last jobs I had before retiring at the end of 2015 was to work with stakeholders on procedures to mandate national accreditation for all community behavioral health programs in Maryland.
In my experience back then, achieving national accreditation was rigorous and arduous but, according to the PRPs and other community-based programs that went through it, the process resulted in improved quality and service outcomes and, most importantly, higher consumer satisfaction.
So, 10 years later, I have to ask: What happened? Did all the new PRPs endure the same accreditation challenges as PRPs of the past? Did accreditation standards weaken? Were state quality monitors asleep at the switch? Above all, are Marylanders with behavioral health conditions receiving the services they need and deserve?
A witty colleague once said: If you’re making money in community mental health, you’re not doing it right. I hope money is not the reason there are so many PRPs today.
— Herb Cromwell, Catonsville
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]]>This year, we are honored to host the 52nd reunion of my paternal family — the Hathaways — right here in Baltimore, a city that has nurtured my personal and professional journey.
Our family’s journey began on the shores of West Africa, continuing through the Somerset Plantation in Creswell, North Carolina. Through bondage and beyond, our ancestors never lost sight of their North Star: freedom. That freedom was not just physical, but intellectual, spiritual and communal — embodied in our pursuit of academic achievement, economic empowerment, faith formation and civic engagement.
Our careers have touched every corner of society — ministry, education, arts and culture, politics, sports and entertainment and business. The strength of our family has fortified each of us, helping us resist the traps, tragedies and tricks that too often pull others down. In each story of resilience, in every achievement, in all our sacrifices, we find living proof that “knowing your family strengthens each other.”
Family reunions such as this serve a vital role. They are more than social gatherings — they are sacred moments of reconnection. They anchor each generation with pride and purpose, reminding us of who we are and where we come from. We are descendants of survivors, dreamers and doers.
I’ve been blessed with an active career in the life of Baltimore. Any success I’ve achieved is because I’ve been rooted and grounded in a faith tradition passed down through generations — nurtured by my family, upheld by our ancestors. Truly, “we’ve come this far by faith.” And I still believe, “the family that prays together, stays together.”
So, to my beloved Hathaway family: Welcome to Baltimore. Welcome home.
— Alvin C. Hathaway Sr., Baltimore
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]]>Wynn is spot on to call for a balanced approach to energy centered on natural gas. I would’ve liked to see him mention nuclear with its zero-carbon footprint as part of the energy mix that he favors. But one can’t have everything.
The Democrat’s sound arguments on this important subject make one wish that primary voters in Maryland’s 4th congressional district would’ve shown better judgment in 2008 than to have shown him the door that year. Common sense Democratic voices like his are certainly needed on Capitol Hill.
No doubt someone like Wynn with his talents and ability has done well in private life during the years since he left the House. That said, I, for one, wish he were still there.
— P. Johnsen, Pasadena
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]]>What would it take to impeach her? I hope the Baltimore County Council will assert itself and do more than whine and whimper.
— Steve Block, Pikesville
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]]>Congress should reject any subsequent action taken by the U.S. Department of State to sharply reduce U.S. assistance to the AIDS program in clear defiance of Congressional intent.
— John R. Leopold, Stoney Beach
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]]>Wow, there’s a matter of dire national importance! What other private businesses need a congressman to sort out their labor issues? Starbucks, perhaps. Maybe he thinks the baristas should be paid by the latte instead of by the hour.
Note to self: If the U.S. House of Representatives flips in the midterms, there could be a subsidy for WNBA players in a spending bill. Stay in your lane, Congressman Olszewski.
— Jeb Brownstein, Owings Mills
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]]>I nominate Klausmeier to have her picture hung between former disgraced Baltimore County Executives Spiro Agnew and Dale Anderson.
— Lyle Rescott, Marriottsville
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]]>The key word is “independent.” Independent means not beholden to anyone politically or otherwise. Baltimore County Inspector General Kelly Madigan became beholden when Baltimore County Council members, a Baltimore inspector general and a national organization of inspector generals publicly pressured the appointing authority to hire her.
Council members should have let the process continue without interference or public comment. Madigan should have remained silent, let her credentials speak for themselves and stayed out of the political fray. Thus, she could have remained independent and not beholden to any person or group.
The Baltimore County executive pursued a national search process. The selection team considered 23 applicants and selected a final three to proceed with Madigan as one of those three. Klausmeier then selected Khadija Walker, a former federal auditor. This was the person she felt was the most independent, best qualified and has the credentials to serve the citizens of Baltimore County as their next independent IG. I hope members of the Baltimore County Council agree.
— John E. Gavrilis, Nottingham
The writer is a retired Maryland Transit Administration police chief.
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]]>These allegations are, of course, meant to deflect attention from Trump’s friendship with the sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein. Yet the 2019 report by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III that Williams cites clearly finds that Russia did attempt to influence that election in favor of Trump. Williams claims Russia’s attempts had no effect on the outcome. That’s pretty difficult to assess, but what’s important is that they did interfere, a point Williams deems unimportant.
The columnist also quotes the late Justice Antonin Scalia who said, “A government of laws, and not of men, means that our rulers are bound by the law, just as the governed are.” Somehow he avoids mentioning that the Trump administration has defied court rulings including from the U.S. Supreme Court.
Williams writes: “This is not a conspiracy theory. This is the documented history of the modern American state.” Except there is no documentation. There are only allegations by a president who has told, on average over the four years of his first presidency, 20 lies each and every day. And that is documented.
— John Gazurian, Baltimore
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]]>Not to be outdone, I recited the few Psalms that I knew by heart, with Buz joining in. It was great fun. In addition to memorizing the Psalms, Buz had just completed another play. He had several produced in his lifetime.
Two years ago, Buz passed away. At 96, his body had failed him, but his mind was still sharp.
“Anyone who stops learning is old whether at 20 or 80,” said industrialist Henry Ford, adding, “Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.”
For those not as self-motivated as my friend Buz, there are many stimulating courses to take and to teach all over town. Teaching in the Johns Hopkins Odyssey program keeps me young. Because some of my students, or participants, as I prefer to call them, are older than I and are experts in their fields, I need to be at the top of my game, so to speak. Whether I am teaching plays, short stories, poetry or novels, I always re-read and research — history and criticism.
Several of my super-smart senior participants during the past 15 years have included an 82-year-old Hopkins and Harvard graduate, who practiced law for 56 years before recently retiring; JoAnn, retired from Maryland Public Television; Eileen, a former elementary school teacher and her husband, Mike, a retired emergency medicine physician, who now writes plays; and Tom, a newly retired cardiologist who loves Shakespeare.
But I am not the only instructor in the Odyssey program who finds great mental stimulation. Circuit Court Judge Stephen Sfekas taught a popular course on the Nuremberg trials of the Nazi judges, then taught “The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson,” a timely course that I took and enjoyed.
Pete Kakel, an insurance broker for 37 years, returned to university at 53, earning a Ph.D. in Modern History, and has been teaching courses at Odyssey for the past several years. Each course focused on a historical event of the time: The Holocaust, the Vietnam War, the New Deal. Discussions focused on how academic historians have explained the American Revolution that included an all-day trip to the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia.
Odyssey, however, is not the only program in Baltimore geared to older adults. Courses at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, offered at Johns Hopkins and at Towson University, and the Notre Dame Renaissance Program, occur during the day in contrast to Odyssey’s courses, scheduled mostly in the evenings, making them more convenient for some.
The Community College of Baltimore sends instructors to retirement communities, such as Edenwald, where a good friend has taught a popular course on Historic Churches and Synagogues in Maryland.
In her review of Gail Collins’ “No Stopping Us Now,” “60 Minutes” correspondent Lesley Stahl, 83, said, “If you’re 70-plus, you could be Speaker of the House, as Nancy Pelosi was, sit on the Supreme Court, as Ruth Bader Ginsburg did, or work for ’60 Minutes’ (Mike Wallace and Andy Rooney lasted into their 90s).”
Or as researcher and writer Paula Spencer says: “The brain you have is the brain you build.” Whether you choose to memorize Psalms, write plays, take or teach courses, just keep on building your brain.
— Lynne Agress, Towson
The letter writer teaches in the Odyssey Program of the Johns Hopkins University and was president of BWB-Business Writing Inc., a writing and editing consulting company.
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