JUVENILE JUSTICE
JUVENILE JUSTICE
An important development in juvenile justice has just been announced by the Governor. He is proposing to spend 200 million dollars by 2012 to construct four detention and treatment centers for juvenile offenders, replacing Cheltenham and Hickey with smaller facilities. For the current budget, O’Malley is recommending an expenditure of 5.7 million for design of the centers. Juvenile Services Secretary Donald DeVore suggested that the new facilities would save State money by reducing the number of delinquents sent out of state for treatment and detention. Although the juvenile justice monitor called this proposal a “great first step”, she suggested that the State could move more quickly to correct problems with the physical plant at other institutions. In addition, questions have been raised about whether the money earmarked for these institutions might be better spent on services within the community, thus reducing the need for institutionalizing so many delinquent juveniles.
So far this session, only one bill in the field of Juvenile Justice has been filed. That bill, HB 75 (Shewell and 58 others) JUVENILES – ARRESTS FOR REPORTABLE OFFENSES – EXPANSION OF NOTIFICATION requires the police and the States Attorney to report a child’s arrest for certain violent crimes and drug related offenses to the Principal of the child’s school, if the child attends school. Until now, the law enforcement officials have been required to report to the superintendent of schools of the local jurisdiction. An identical bill was filed in the Senate and House in 2007. At that time it received an unfavorable report from the House Judiciary Committee but passed the Senate.
Debbie Ehrenstein