Baltimore County working group launches survivor-resource webpage; BCSTAT maps show higher domestic-violence call rates in Dundalk, Essex

Baltimore County SEVA working group members reviewed a newly published county webpage that aggregates survivor resources and heard a BC STAT presentation showing higher domestic-violence (DV) call rates in southeastern precincts such as Dundalk and Essex.

The webpage, developed with the county Office of Information Technology, lists hotlines, brief descriptions of services, phone numbers and physical addresses where available. Henry Callegary, senior coordination manager for public safety and accountability with Baltimore County, told the group the page includes a “quick exit” button that redirects users to the Baltimore County homepage and that shortened URLs (BaltimoreCountyMD.gov/saresources and /dvresources) will be circulated to the working group.

BC STAT senior data analyst Harrison DeBoer presented maps that compare DV victims per 10,000 residents (county police data) with social determinants of health (SDOH) indicators. DeBoer said the team used roughly 50–60 indicators and normalized SDOH measures from the census and CDC to police-precinct boundaries so precinct-level comparisons could be made. He described the visual approach: “we're interested in whatever the topmost color is because that, in this case, is where there's high DV victims and there's high unemployment,” and showed that Dundalk and parts of Essex appeared dark on bivariate maps where high DV rates and high unemployment or child poverty overlap.

The analysis highlighted consistent geographic overlap between elevated DV call rates and several SDOH measures, including unemployment, child poverty and self-reported mental distress (CDC PLACES data). DeBoer also noted some exceptions: Towson shows higher-than-expected DV call rates despite higher educational attainment and lower unemployment, underscoring that elevated DV rates are not confined to areas with low educational or economic indicators.

Speakers cautioned against interpreting the maps as causal proof. Several commenters, including Councilwoman Young, emphasized that police 911 and call-for-service data undercount incidents because many survivors seek medical or social services without involving law enforcement. “We had many students come in reporting that wanted anonymous kits. And so you never get those numbers,” Councilwoman Young said, describing why hospital and nonprofit records may contain additional incidents not reflected in police data.

Participants discussed gaps and next steps. Providers in the room reported they already capture client-level data for grant reporting (ZIP code of client, referral source, whether police action was pursued) and suggested these nonprofit datasets could broaden the county’s view of need. Attendees also raised potential additional overlays for BC STAT to consider, including liquor license concentration, overdose and overall crime data, school absenteeism and graduation rates, and child-welfare and child-abuse reports—while noting data-sharing agreements, capacity and privacy rules can limit what is shareable.

Henry Callegary said he will circulate the webpage links and asked members to suggest edits to organization descriptions and resource listings. Several participants volunteered follow-up actions: exploring data-sharing with state child-welfare entities, inviting Baltimore County Public Schools representatives to discuss prevention curricula, and coordinating with grant managers to see what provider-level data could be aggregated without violating confidentiality.

The meeting also included scheduling and outreach notes: the Women’s Law Center announced a May event honoring advocates, and a participant flagged recently enacted human-trafficking education legislation referenced to the Maryland Department of Transportation. No formal votes or regulatory actions were taken; the meeting closed with a plan for Henry Callegary and BC STAT to circulate materials and for working-group members to propose follow-up meeting topics that focus on how SDOH-correlated areas could inform prevention and survivor support strategies.