New Study Finds High Confidence in Juvenile Services
August 12, 2005
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With “balanced and restorative justice” as the official state aim for assisting families with troubled children, a new study finds that court officials who interact with the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services are generally satisfied with the level of care provided by this vital state agency. But enhancements need to be made, according to these same officials, if Maryland is going to restore hope for children with problems and their families.
In a new study published by the University of Baltimore School of Law’s Center for Families, Children and the Courts, Maryland ’s Circuit Court judges and juvenile masters express a high level of confidence in the abilities and intentions of DJS. At the same time, these officials believe that more information sharing, analysis of relevant data and day-to-day communication must take place between the agency and the courts. While “restorative justice” – a phrase taken from DJS’s mission statement – is a top priority at the agency, the responding judges believe that rehabilitation is the most important component of the department’s job, with protection of the public second. Still, for the most part, there is a consistent belief among judges and masters that DJS is moving in the right direction.
“Considering the kind of public scrutiny and criticism that DJS is subject to, it is gratifying to find that, in general, the judges and masters who deliver juvenile justice are supportive of the agency,” said Barbara Babb, CFCC director and one of two lead researchers for the project. “Clearly, however, there are problems that require additional attention from all sides. The most serious problem, according to many of the judges and masters surveyed, is that detention facilities are limited in what they can offer, and there is a critical shortage of adequate, effective community services for our youth.”
The survey, funded by a grant from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, was developed by CFCC in consultation with an advisory committee that comprised several Circuit Court judges and masters. It was sent out in January 2004 to the 136 judges and 50 masters who currently serve on the court. CFCC received 94 responses; collectively, that number represented a response rate of about 75 percent. Nearly all respondents either had presided over delinquency cases or were currently doing so.
The University of Baltimore ’s Schaefer Center for Public Policy and CFCC staff then performed an extensive analysis of the survey questionnaires. In addition, the staff and a group of UB School of Law students interviewed 22 judges and masters to gain additional details based on the responses.
Gloria Danziger , CFCC senior fellow, says the study’s intent was to find out where the interface between DJS and the courts was working effectively, and where it was in need of improvement.
“What we should get out of this effort is a clear sense of where the issues are, and how to prioritize them in terms of funding and ability,” Danziger said. “We hope that this report is the first step in a series of collaborative measures among DJS, the courts and the wider community to improve the dialogue among these key sectors and to lead to significant improvements in the ways in which we address the state’s troubled youths.”
The report consists of six sections: DJS recommendations and reports; DJS services and programs; juvenile justice goals; sharing of information; policies; and CFCC recommendations.
Highlights of the study include the following:
- The respondents place significant importance on DJS recommendations.
- Judges and masters take DJS recommendations most often into account when making decisions on case disposition, foster care placement and type of care.
- Well more than half of the respondents say they are either very or somewhat confident in all types of DJS recommendations.
- Nearly a third of the respondents say children are not placed in foster care in a timely fashion.
- Nearly half of the respondents are somewhat confident of the ability of the DJS to match youth to most appropriate services, and a few are very confident.
- Respondents believe that detention centers are generally of moderate or moderately low quality.
The University of Baltimore is an upper-division, graduate and professional university. UB—the state’s career-minded university—is a member of the University System of Maryland and comprises the School of Law, the Yale Gordon College of Liberal Arts and the Robert G. Merrick School of Business.