THE STUDY BEGAN IN AUGUST 1976, AT A TIME WHEN THE MARYLAND LEGISLATURE WAS CONSIDERING ABOLISHING THE INSTITUTION. CREATED BY LAWS IN 1951, PATUXENT PROVIDED PSYCHIATRIC AND OTHER SERVICES TO OFFENDERS WHO, HAVING BEEN DESIGNATED DEFECTIVE DELINQUENTS, WERE COMMITTED INVOLUNTARILY TO THE INSTITUTION TO SERVE INDETERMINATE SENTENCES. THE EVALUATION WAS DESIGNED TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THEORETICAL MODELS THAT GOVERNED THE INSTITUTION'S OPERATIONS AND THE ACTUAL PROCESSES OF DECISIONMAKING, DIAGNOSIS, AND TREATMENT. EVALUATORS SOUGHT TO DETERMINE WHETHER PATUXENT ACTUALLY HAD A MODEL OF OPERATION, WHETHER THAT MODEL WAS SCIENTIFICALLY VALID, WHETHER DECISIONMAKING PRACTICES WERE EFFECTIVE AND FAIR, WHETHER DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT WERE EFFECTIVE, AND WHETHER THE INSTITUTION WAS COST-EFFECTIVE. FOUR STUDY TEAMS GATHERED INFORMATION ON THE FOLLOWING FACTORS: THE PROCESSES OF REFERRAL, COMMITMENT, AND RELEASE; THE QUALITY AND RESULTS OF SPECIFIC DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES AND TREATMENT MODALITIES; RECIDIVISM RATES OF PATUXENT INMATES COMPARED WITH OTHER MARYLAND INMATES; AND THE RELATIVE COSTS AND BENEFITS OF PATUXENT AND ALTERNATIVES IN THE MARYLAND CORRECTIONAL SYSTEM. THE OVERALL CONCLUSIONS WERE THAT MARYLAND'S PRACTICE OF INVOLUNTARY COMMITMENT TO PATUXENT FOR AN INDETERMINATE SENTENCE UNDER A DEFECTIVE DELINQUENT STATUTE REQUIRING PREDICTION OF DANGEROUSNESS WAS COUNTERPRODUCTIVE AND THAT SUCCESS WAS MOST LIKELY WHEN INMATES PARTICIPATED WILLINGLY IN THEIR OWN REHABILITATIVE REGIMENS. IT WAS RECOMMENDED THAT THE INSTITUTION BE CONTINUED AS A SPECIAL TREATMENT FACILITY, WITH MODIFICATIONS. REFLECTING THE EVALUATORS' RECOMMENDATIONS, THE STATE LEGISLATURE ELIMINATED INDETERMINATE SENTENCES AT PATUXENT, MADE ADMISSION TO THE INSTITUTION VOLUNTARY, REPLACED THE DESIGNATION 'DEFECTIVE DELINQUENT' WITH 'ELIGIBLE PERSON' IN DESCRIBING PERSONS QUALIFIED FOR ADMISSION TO PATUXENT, AND PROVIDED FOR A PERMANENT RESEARCH FACILITY AND ONGOING EVALUATION AT THE INSTITUTION. (LKM)