The office opened its doors in January 1972, has 5 operational divisions, and provides services in 12 operational districts. Its five service programs include general administration; district operations such as qualifying and representing clients in courts, police custody, and hearings; appellate and collateral review; involuntary civil commitment; and capital defense. The public defender's office received additional contractual and staff positions during the fiscal year to enable it to move close to a full workforce. The new positions focused on arraignment courts in Baltimore; cases involving the termination of parental rights; and the establishment of statewide committees to develop uniform policies in the areas of personnel, training, grants, family law practice, operations, and procedures. The defender's offices opened a total of 166,964 cases during fiscal year 1999. Reports on activities and cases in each of the 12 districts, tables, footnotes, and appended tables and figure