DJS TOP 15 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
2007-2009
1. Passed a $188 million
Capital Improvement Plan to construct two new, smaller treatment
facilities in Baltimore City and Prince George's County
and replace the now compliant, but outdated, Cheltenham
and Hickey detention facilities;
2. Created a Juvenile Violence Prevention Initiative (VPI)
statewide to identify and appropriately supervise youth
who are at high risk to become victims or perpetrators of
violent crime. Statewide there are over 300 VPI youth;
3. Expanded the use of electronic monitoring by deploying
Global Positioning Systems (GPS) to track 200 high-risk
juvenile offenders in the community. GPS holds youth accountable
in real time, while allowing them to remain in the community
and out of detention facilities;
4. Increased utilization of Baltimore City's Operation Safe
Kids (OSK) program and expanded OSK to Prince George's
County. OSK is a proven public health-based approach to
providing intensive services to high-risk youth. All VPI
youth in these jurisdictions are served by OSK;
5. Expanded the use of community placements through evidence-based
programs such as Multi-systemic Therapy and Functional Family
Therapy, and signing the first state-local compact with
Baltimore County to support these alternative programs;
6. DJS and Baltimore City Schools have created an electronic
attendance feed from Baltimore City Schools. Attendance
records are sent everyday and matched to youth under DJS
supervision. Notification is sent to case workers who can
then respond immediately when youth fail to attend school;
7. Increased use of detention alternatives for youth by
30 percent;
8. Reduced the number of youth placed out of state by 20
percent;
9. Reduced the average length of stay for youth by 30 percent;
10. Passed legislation allowing police to release names
and photographs of youth who have escaped from secure residential
or detention facilities;
11. Opened the Victor Cullen Academy, the first new state-run
committed program in 25 years;
12. Passed legislation to allow for information sharing
with the Department of Human Resources and the District
of Columbia;
13. Developed a protocol to prevent shooting victims from
being re-victimized and/or from retaliating by assessing
their safety and developing and implementing safety plans.
Partners involved in this collaborative effort are the Department
of Juvenile Services (DJS), the Baltimore City Police Department
(BPD), the State's Attorney's Office (SAO), Operation Safe
Kids (OSK) and the Mayor's Office on Criminal Justice (MOCJ);
14. Banned the use of restraints at private treatment facilities;
and
15. Increased vocational services for youth within detention
and treatment facilities. Vocation services include: electrical,
woodshop, landscaping, computer A+ certification, culinary,
healthcare/first responder, horticulture and fishery.
