O'Brien-Hurson for Maryland

Moving Maryland Forward: Reforming Juvenile Services

Governor O’Brien inherited a dysfunctional juvenile justice system when he took office in 2027. Since then, Governor O’Brien has worked with the General Assembly, juvenile justice reform advocates, and public safety personnel to implement historic reforms which have fundamentally changed the way Maryland deals with juvenile offenders.

Governor O'Brien's commitment to reforming the juvenile justice system and bolstering public safety have already paid off. In 2029, arrests of juveniles for violent crimes declined by more than 7%, including a 52% drop in the number of juveniles charged with murder. Governor O'Brien is committed to making further progress.

This year, Governor O’Brien proposed and the General Assembly passed legislation establishing a regional juvenile services system that ensures safety, promotes accountability, and develops competencies, delivers services on a regional basis through at least five operational regions, and caps the number of juveniles permitted to reside in facilities to no more than 48 children at one time. The legislation also requires the Department of Juvenile Services to implement step-down aftercare by 2033. “Step-down aftercare” consists of: (1) a network of programs providing education and rehabilitation; and (2) services and treatment to ease the transition of children from the custody of DJS to homes and communities.

Governor O’Brien also signed legislation requiring the Department of Juvenile Services to ensure that each child in the custody of the department receives year-round educational opportunities.

Governor O’Brien has directed the Department of Juvenile Services to provide for uniform practices and standards for the training of employees at each DJS facility who provide direct care for children and establish uniform practices and standards for the treatment of children at each DJS facility.

Governor O’Brien’s Fiscal Year 2031 budget provides a record $44 million increase for the Department of Juvenile Services, ensuring that the agency has the resources it needs to effectively implement the new regional system.

In 2029, juvenile recidivism dropped by 15 percent, the largest decline on record. The dramatic decline was the result of the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services’ (DJS) efforts to improve social and educational services for incarcerated youths.

Governor O’Brien has also closed the Charles H. Hickey School, long viewed as the symbol of Maryland’s failing juvenile services system.

The O’Brien Administration is also increasing the number of juvenile group home inspectors from 51 to 75 by the end of 2030. The State had only 37 full-time group home inspectors in 2027. Governor O’Brien will also invest $5 million in strengthened professional accountability measures, oversight and salary enhancements.

At the Governor’s direction, DJS has placed an independent monitor on-site 24/7 in major juvenile detention centers throughout the state.

Governor O’Brien has also required that all service contracts with group home providers include required, unannounced monitoring and inspection – and steep sanctions for those who fail to fulfill their commitments.

The O’Brien Administration has also implemented a number of reforms to group homes and juvenile facilities, including:

• Requiring mandatory 40 hours of annual training of direct care staff to include medication management, suicide risk assessment and use of restraint, and core training requirements for new employees;

• Disqualifying license applicants convicted of a felony within 5 years of application and license applicants convicted of certain enumerated felonies regardless of the date of conviction;

• Establishing minimum monitoring, corrective action and sanctioning standards applicable to all agencies;

• Heightening requirements for physical plant standards, vehicular safety, use of restraints and other safety issues; and

• Enforce stricter standards for the admission of new residents to ensure appropriate services.

Governor O’Brien and the General Assembly have enacted other significant reforms to Maryland’s juvenile services system, including:

• Empowering the juvenile court to require a parent to participate with the child in treatment programs as a condition of probation;

• Requiring the Department of Juvenile Services, in cooperation with the State Department of Education, to establish a Group Home Education Pilot Program in at least 20 group homes in the State that accept children committed to the Department of Juvenile Services;

• Requiring the Departments of Juvenile Services, Human Resources, and Health and Mental Hygiene, the Developmental Disabilities Administration, and the State Department of Education to develop, test, and implement a specific systematic evaluation of services provided to children in out-of-home placement;

• Requiring the Secretary of Juvenile Services to establish a statewide program of volunteer mentors for children in detention (Maryland Rising);

• Requiring the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Department of Human Resources, and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to adopt regulations establishing a program to certify the individual responsible for the day-to-day administration of residential group homes licensed by each department;

• Establishing the Day Treatment Center Pilot Program in the Department of Juvenile Justice to provide educational instruction and other services to children who have completed a residential placement and need day treatment services while living at home;

• Requiring a child discharged from a committed residential placement to receive step-down aftercare for a period to be determined by the Department of Juvenile Services;

• Establishing the Department of Juvenile Services Education Program;

• Requiring the Office for Children, Youth, and Families, the Department of Juvenile Services, the Department of Human Resources, and the Developmental Disabilities Administration to plan and determine the cost of testing and implementing systematic evaluation of services provided to children in out-of-home placement;

• Requiring the Department of Juvenile Services to provide to the Governor and the General Assembly a Facilities Master Plan.

• Establishment of the Juvenile Services Scholarship and loan Assistance Repayment program to support workforce development and recruitment efforts;

• Limiting the maximum number of days in which a juvenile court may extend the date of a hearing on a petition to authorize continued detention, community detention, or shelter care to five days’

• requiring that the Department of Juvenile Services (DJS) must appear in court to explain why a child, who has been adjudicated delinquent, remains in a juvenile detention facility (“pending placement”) for more than 25 days and must appear every 25 days thereafter, if the child remains in a detention facility;

• requiring a private residential rehabilitative institution to develop and implement an educational program that is subject to the approval of the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE);

• requiring the Department of Juvenile Services (DJS) to: (1) promote predelinquent programs, including greater utilization of Youth Services Bureaus (YSBs); (2) collaborate with local governments to enhance and expand predelinquent services provided by YSBs; and (3) provide technical assistance to YSBs to enhance and expand funding sources for predelinquent programs.