County’s Department of Correction and Rehabilitation Director Rob Green Tapped for State Post

For Immediate Release: Monday, April 29, 2019

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan has selected Montgomery County Department of Correction and Rehabilitation (DOCR) Director Robert Green to serve as the head of the State’s Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, one of the largest departments in Maryland with nearly 12,000 employees and a budget of more than $1 billion.

Green’s last day in Montgomery County government is May 12.

“Rob Green’s leadership and influence extend beyond the walls of our correctional facilities,” said Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich. “His work to improve the quality of life, education, care, and security of the inmate population of the County’s Correctional system, and the staff that manage it, has set a nationally recognized standard in the effort to reduce recidivism. When men and women return to society better prepared for meaningful employment, the benefits extend beyond their own lives. They have the potential to rejoin society as positive, engaged, contributing members of their communities and workplaces. Rob will be a huge contribution to the State. He has one of the best minds on prison reform; and the work that’s been done in Montgomery County is critical to the rest of the State. Montgomery County owes Rob a debt of gratitude; and I’m glad the rest of the State will realize that benefit as well.”

Green has been with DOCR since 2000. He previously served as the department’s warden until 2014, when he was nominated as director by former Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett and unanimously confirmed by the County Council in June 2015.  Green has a distinguished 34-year career in the field of Correction and Rehabilitation.

“The staff at the Department of Correction and Rehabilitation are some of the best in the business,” said Green. “Their daily work allows the department to be innovative and safe.  It has been an honor to work with them. Montgomery County is an incredibly supportive government and community. I will miss them greatly.” 

Before coming to DOCR, Green served for 15 years with the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office, beginning in 1985 as a Correctional Officer/Assistant Commander. Through his time there, he progressed through the ranks and in 1997 became director of Corrections/Corrections Bureau Chief.

Following a national search by Montgomery County, Green was chosen in 2000 as a Division Chief/Warden at DOCR for the County’s Correctional Facility (MCCF) in Clarksburg and the Detention Center in Rockville.

During his time at DOCR, Green and his staff created a Detention Services Reentry Unit at the MCCF in Clarksburg that has been recognized as a national model. In 2014, the U.S. Attorney General and the U.S. Secretary of Labor visited Clarksburg as part of the kickoff to replicate the program across the country.

Partnerships developed with Montgomery College were designed to create programs including one working with American Prison Data Systems to introduce the use of wireless tablets to the jail population for further educational and reentry opportunities.

Green has appeared as an expert witness in Congressional hearings on the Prison Rape Elimination Act, gang violence and funding for correctional mental health. He is currently chairman of the Maryland Commission on Correctional Standards, having been appointed by former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley in 2007.

Chief Angela Talley will be the acting director while the County Executive searches for a new director.

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Release ID: 19-139
Media Contact: Ohene Gyapong 240-777-6507