DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE SERVICES

FUNCTIONS

Department of Juvenile Services, One Plaza Center, 120 West Fayette St., Baltimore, Maryland, April 2001. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

Probation, that is, the supervision of youngsters who are adjudicated delinquent but not institutionalized is the responsibility of the Department of Juvenile Services, as is aftercare, the supervision and counseling of minors for a prescribed period of time upon their release from an institution. The Department also administers community-based residential programs, and nonresidential and residential services provided by private vendors.

Since 1969, through field offices in each county and Baltimore City, intake officers from the Department of Juvenile Services receive and process complaints filed against juveniles. Most complaints come from the police after a juvenile has been arrested, but parents, teachers, social workers, or any citizen may file a complaint. The intake officer makes a preliminary inquiry as to whether court proceedings are in the child's best interest and then may resolve the complaint out of court through informal supervision or diversion to community-based services, file a petition for court action, or dismiss the complaint. Many complaints are resolved without court action. When a petition for court action is filed, the intake officer recommends whether detention is necessary prior to adjudication, and a detention hearing is held in juvenile court. Next, an adjudicatory hearing determines whether the child is delinquent or in need of supervision. Then, a disposition hearing decides on adequate treatment for the child, either at home, under community supervision, in an out-of-home residence, or for those categorized as dangerous to themselves and others, through commitment to a secure institution. The Department is responsible for providing care to youth adjudicated delinquent or children in need of supervision (CINS) and developing programs for the "predelinquent" child, one whose behavior is likely to lead to contact with law enforcement agencies (Chapter 480, Acts of 1971). For children in need of assistance (CINA), local departments of social services are responsible for their care (Chapter 343, Acts of 1991).

In the past twenty-five years, the State has altered the way it cares for troubled youth. Maryland no longer relies solely on custodial care in institutions to treat juveniles who have violated the law. The most recent reform initiative of the Department is best characterized by the 1988 closing of the Montrose School, the 1991 privatization of the Charles H. Hickey, Jr., School, and expansion of community-based alternatives to institutionalization. Nonetheless, juveniles who pose a risk to public safety still may be confined in detention centers. For juveniles awaiting trial or court disposition, the Department's detention centers also provide short-term residential care. The Department also licenses private and public residential programs serving troubled youth.

Since 2007, the Department is required to provide services to the youth in its care on a regional basis, and may only place a child outside of the child's home region if the child requires specialized services not available in the home region. Also, any facility in which the Department detains or commits a child must not have more than forty-eight children committed or detained at the same time. Further, Department services to youth must ensure the safety both of the community and the child served; hold delinquent children accountable to victims and communities; and assist the children in its care to develop skills to become successful members of society (Chapter 498, Acts of 2007; Code Human Services Article, sec. 9-238.1).

OFFICE OF SECRETARY

Appointed by the Governor with Senate advice and consent, the Secretary of Juvenile Services heads the Department of Juvenile Services (Code Human Services Article, sec. 9-202).

The Secretary of Juvenile Services serves on the Governor's Executive Council and the Children's Cabinet. The Secretary also is a member of the Advisory Board on After-School and Summer Opportunity Programs; the Cease Fire Council; the State Child Fatality Review Team; the State Coordinating Council for Children; the Advisory Council to the Children's Cabinet; the Correctional Training Commission; the Maryland State Drug and Alcohol Abuse Council; the Governor's Family Violence Council; the Judges, Masters and Juvenile Justice Committee; the Coordinating Council for Juvenile Services Educational Programs; the State Council for Interstate Juvenile Supervision; the Mental Health Transformation Working Group; the Interdepartmental Advisory Committee for Minority Affairs; the Maryland School-Based Health Care Policy Advisory Council; the Sexual Offender Advisory Board; the Maryland Commission on Suicide Prevention; the Vehicle Theft Prevention Council; the State Board of Victim Services; and the Board of Directors, Maryland Workforce Corporation.

Under the Secretary, the Department is organized by two main functions: Operations, and Support Services. The Office of the Secretary is assisted by the State Advisory Board for Juvenile Services; the Female Population Task Force; the Judges, Masters, and Juvenile Justice Committee; and the State's Attorneys Liaison Committee.

STATE ADVISORY BOARD FOR JUVENILE SERVICES
The State Advisory Board for Juvenile Services formed in 1966 as the State Advisory Board of Juvenile Services (Chapter 126, Acts of 1966). In 1987, it was renamed the State Advisory Board for Juvenile Services and, in 1995, as the State Advisory Board for Juvenile Justice (Chapter 290, Acts of 1987; Chapter 8, Acts of 1995). In July 2003, it again became the State Advisory Board for Juvenile Services (Chapter 53, Acts of 2003).

The Board recommends to the Secretary of Juvenile Services policies and programs to improve State juvenile services. The Board helps plan development and use of resources and helps inform the public of the work of the Department.

Appointed by the Governor to three-year terms, the Board consists of nineteen members. The Governor names the chair (Code Human Services Article, secs. 9-211 through 9-215).

FEMALE POPULATION TASK FORCE
In April 1992, the Female Population Task Force was created by the Secretary of Juvenile Services. The Task Force demographically defined young women offenders and formed a plan to improve services to them. That plan was contained in their report issued in September 1993.

Meeting monthly, the Task Force now monitors the implementation of its recommendations, ensures that the Department provides specialized services to the girls in its care, and serves as an advisory board for statewide issues concerning young women offenders.

JUDGES, MASTERS & JUVENILE JUSTICE COMMITTEE
To fashion a formal means of communication between the Department and the courts, the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals and the Director of the Juvenile Services Agency formed the Judicial Liaison Committee in 1990. In 1996, it was renamed Judges, Masters and Juvenile Justice Committee.

Members meet to discuss common problems, resource needs, policy decisions, and legislative recommendations.

To the Committe, the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals appoints the judicial representation, and the Secretary of Juvenile Services appoints representatives of the Department. The chair alternates yearly between the Chief Judge and the Secretary, who serve ex officio.

STATE'S ATTORNEYS LIAISON COMMITTEE
The State's Attorneys Liaison Committee was initiated in 1991 by the President of the State's Attorneys Association and the Secretary of Juvenile Services to enhance cooperation between the Department and State's Attorneys. The Committee first met in January 1992.

Originally, members were chosen by the Secretary of Juvenile Services and the Association President. Now, the Committee is self-perpetuating.

CHIEF OF STAFF

OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL

Under the Office are six main units: Child Advocacy; Internal Audit; Investigations; Program Evaluation; Quality Assurance; and Workforce and Leadership Development.

INTERNAL AUDIT
Internal Audit began as separate units for residential and nonresidential monitoring called Standards and Compliance. They combined in 1993 as Residential and Nonresidential Monitoring. In July 1993, the unit was renamed Program Monitoring and, in 1996, Standards and Compliance. It transferred from Admissions to the Office of Professional Responsibility and Accountability in 2000 as Management Services and Quality Assurance. In July 2002, it reorganized as Audits and Compliance, and in January 2008 as Audit. In February 2009, renamed Internal Audit, it transferred to the Office of Resource Management. In January 2010, it moved to the Office of Quality Assurance and Accountability, and in July 2011 to the Office of Inspector General.

To ensure compliance with contracts and federal and State regulations, Internal Audit oversees those private firms licensed or certified by the Department to provide residential and nonresidential services for troubled youth. For each program, this office develops an annual monitoring plan. Staff then visit each site to check physical plants; conduct investigations; verify any corrective acts taken to comply with State and federal regulations; interview staff and students; and observe programs.

Residential programs are licensed by the Department every two years. On the off-year, this unit audits each program and issues a report for each facility.

PROGRAM EVALUATION
Formerly under the Office of Quality Assurance and Accountability, Program Evaluation transferred to the Office of Inspector General in July 2011. For compliance with Departmental standards, Program Evaluation monitors private-provider programs, out-of-state residential programs, and community-based programs where the Department places youths for treatment and supervision. For those programs which must be licensed by the Department, Program Evaluation oversees the licensing process.

OPERATIONS

In 2000, Operations first organized as Restorative Justice Operations, reformed in January 2002 as Admissions and Community Justice, and reverted to its original name in January 2003. It restructured as Programs in March 2004, as Operations in March 2005, as Regional Operations in December 2008, and again as Operations in February 2009.

Operations oversees the Office of Professional Services, and six regions: Baltimore City, Central, Eastern Shore, Metro, Southern, and Western. Each region is responsible for State-operated facilities and the delivery of community services within its geographic boundaries.

INTERSTATE COMPACT ON JUVENILES
This unit administers the Interstate Compact on Juveniles, ratified by Maryland in 1966 (Chapter 520, Acts of 1966). In 2007, a new Interstate Compact for Juveniles was approved by the General Assembly (Chapter 500, Acts of 2007). The Compact was activated when the thirty-fifth state ratified it in August 2008.

Because jurisdiction of juveniles is never transferred, the Compact provides for courtesy supervision when an adjudicated youth moves to a different state to reside with parents or guardians. The unit also is responsible for the safe return of runaways from other states (Code Human Services Article, secs. 9-301 through 9-314).

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH & VICTIM SERVICES
Under Programs, Behavioral Health and Victim Services began as Behavioral Health Services in December 2004. In March 2005, it was placed under the Deputy Secretary for Operations, moved in December 2008 under Program Services, and became part of the Office of Professional Services in February 2009. In July 2011, it again was transferred under the Deputy Secretary for Operations.

Behavioral Health and Victim Services provides behavioral health assessment and treatment to youth in Departmental facilities, and ensures their smooth transition to community-based treatment.

Two units are overseen by Behavioral Health and Victim Services: Mental Health Services, and Substance Abuse Services.

SUBSTANCE ABUSE SERVICES
Substance Abuse Services was initiated by 1992 and reorganized as a separate unit under Health Services in March 2004. In December 2004, it was placed under Behavioral Health Services, and in December 2008 under Program Support, and in February 2009, under Behavioral Health Services.

All juveniles in a detention or committed facility are screened by Substance Abuse Services. Treatment programs are provided for those youths diagnosed as in need of services. Substance Abuse Services also provides preventative education, and works with the eleven Juvenile Drug Courts in Maryland.

COMMUNITY DETENTION & ELECTRONIC MONITORING
721 Woodburne Ave., Baltimore, MD 21212

For youth awaiting court trial or review, Community Detention and Electronic Monitoring is an alternative to incarceration. Juveniles may remain at home in their community under intensive supervision by daily face-to-face or telephone contact and through surveillance by electronic monitoring. A centralized command center in Baltimore City monitors youth through global positioning systems. Regional staff have contact with monitored youth due to changes in their situation, supervision violations, and equipment malfunction.

EDUCATIONAL SERVICES
Formerly under Residential Services, Educational Services transferred to Program Support in December 2008, and as Education, to the Office of Professional Services in February 2009. It reformed as Educational Services in February 2010.

Since 2004, responsibility for the education of juveniles residing in institutions under the jurisdiction of the Department of Juvenile Services has been transitioning to the State Department of Education. By July 1, 2012, all educational services offered by the residential facilities of the Department of Juvenile Services will be administered by the Juvenile Services Education Program of the State Department of Education. As of July 2008, that program was responsible for education at the Baltimore City Juvenile Justice Center; the J. DeWeese Carter Center; the Lower Eastern Shore Children's Center; Charles H. Hickey, Jr., School; and the Victor Cullen Center.

RESOURCE OFFICE
The Resource Office began as Placement Services under Community Justice Programs, and was transferred to the Office of Professional Services in February 2009 as Placement. It assumed its present name in February 2010.

For the placement of juveniles in residential and nonresidential programs, the Office establishes policy and standards. At area offices of juvenile justice throughout Maryland, the Office's resource coordinators meet with case managers to assess a child's needs for education, socialization, and health services. They determine which Department program best meets these needs while protecting public safety. The Office monitors the case until the minor is accepted into a program, and placement and other services are funded.

SOMATIC HEALTH SERVICES
Within the Residential Services Division, Somatic Health Services began as Health Services and transferred to Health Care Services as Medical Services in 2000. It joined Program Support in December 2008, and as Somatic Health Services moved to the Office of Professional Services in February 2009.

Somatic Health Services coordinates and oversees somatic health and nutrition for youth admitted to the Department's care and custody. Somatic Health services include an assessment of immediate medical needs by a nurse, a physical examination and health history, immunizations, laboratory tests, dietary services, dental care, sick care, and emergency treatment.

Many youth entering Department facilities have behaved irresponsibly and face complex health problems, such as chronic untreated medical conditions, sexually transmitted diseases, illnesses related to drug or alcohol abuse, tuberculosis, teenage pregnancy, or a poor self-image. Somatic Health Services teaches youth to prevent disease and take responsibility for their health.

Somatic Health Services provides clinical, managerial and administrative guidance to health service personnel in Department facilities and programs. The nurse manager at Somatic Health Services advises nurses at juvenile facilities on treatment. The nurse manager also tracks youth from one juvenile facility to another, monitoring their health care. For physicians who treat youth in the Department's care, and for pharmacy and medical laboratory services provided to these youth, Somatic Health Services writes and manages contracts. It also oversees intergovernmental agreements for health care to youth in Department facilities. In addition, Somatic Health Services monitors expenditures for services and organizes continuing education seminars for clinicians.

SPECIAL REVIEWS
Special Reviews began as Best Practices, and adopted its present name in February 2010. It works to implement the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative statewide. Developed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Initiative's core strategies seek to: eliminate unnecessary use of secure detention; minimize the rearresting and failure to appear in court of juveniles pending adjudication; improve the conditions where youth are confined; and redirect funding from detention towards sustainable system reform.

Under the Initiative, Special Reviews also works to reduce racial and ethnic disparity in the juvenile justice system in accordance with terms of the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Act of 2002. By that law, each state is required to have a disproportionate minority contact coordinator. To reduce the numbers of ethnic and racial minorities who interact with the juvenile justice system in numbers not proportionate to their numbers in the general population, the coordinator receives federal grants to develop and implement strategies that ensure all children are treated fairly and equitably.

REGIONAL OPERATIONS

BALTIMORE CITY REGION

BALTIMORE CITY JUVENILE JUSTICE CENTER
300 North Gay St., Baltimore, MD 21202

The Baltimore City Juvenile Justice Center opened October 30, 2003. Formerly under Residential Services, it transferred to Operations in March 2005.

Baltimore City Juvenile Justice Center, 300 North Gay St., Baltimore, Maryland, June 2007. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

WILLIAM DONALD SCHAEFER HOUSE
907-909 Druid Park Lake Drive, Baltimore, MD 21217

Opened in 1972, the Group Home for Boys was renamed for Governor William Donald Schaefer in April 1992. Its program is designed for young men, ages 14 to 18, with a history of drug and alcohol abuse. Located in a residential community, the House provides substance abuse treatment for up to nineteen male low-risk offenders. After an average stay of 90 days, youth transition to an intensive aftercare program in their home community.

CENTRAL REGION

CHARLES H. HICKEY, JR., SCHOOL
2400 Cub Hill Road, Baltimore, MD 21234

The Charles H. Hickey, Jr., School began in 1850 as the House of Refuge on Frederick Avenue in Baltimore City (Chapter 374, Acts of 1849). It was an early effort to separate children from adult criminals in jails. Renamed the Maryland School for Boys, it moved in 1910 to its present site near Loch Raven just north of Baltimore City. In 1918, it became the Maryland Training School for Boys (Chapter 300, Acts of 1918). Adopted in 1985, the School's present name honors a former Baltimore County sheriff (Chapter 245, Acts of 1985).

Formerly, the Hickey School served up to 300 delinquent boys and young men, ages 15 to 17, from across Maryland either as a detention center or as a committed facility (Code Human Services Article, secs. 9-226 through 9-246). From September 1991 to April 2004, the School was run by private firms under contract with the Department. In April 2004, the Department resumed operation of the School. In November 2005, the 130-bed committed residential component was closed.

As a regional detention center for youth awaiting trial or placement in a treatment program, the Hickey School continues to operate. A private vendor, New Directions, runs a treatment program for sex offenders at the School.

EASTERN SHORE REGION

J. DeWEESE CARTER CENTER
P. O. Box 229, Scheeler Road, Chestertown, MD 21620 - 0229

In rural Kent County, the J. DeWeese Carter Center is a secure detention facility with capacity for fifteen youths (from as young as age 9 to as old as age 18). The Center provides emergency detention facilities to the nine counties of the Eastern Shore (Code Human Services Article, sec. 9-238.1). Opened in August 1982, the Center was named for Judge J. DeWeese Carter (1904-1977), who served on the Court of Special Appeals from 1971 to 1973.

In November 2011, the Center transitioned from being a secure detention facility for young men to become a secure committment facility for girls.

LOWER EASTERN SHORE CHILDREN'S CENTER
405 Naylor Mill Road, Salisbury, MD 21801

The Lower Eastern Shore Children's Detention Center in Salisbury, Wicomico County, opened in November 2003. The facility provides secure detention for up to 24 youths, both boys and girls, from Dorchester, Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester counties (Code Human Services Article, sec. 9-238.1). It offers educational services, a drug and alcohol program, anger management and conflict resolution groups, and a Young Fathers program.

METRO REGION

CHELTENHAM YOUTH FACILITY
P. O. Box 160, 11001 Frank Tippett Road, Cheltenham, MD 20623 - 0160

The Cheltenham Youth Facility originated in 1870 as the House of Reformation and Instruction for Colored Children (Chapter 392, Acts of 1870). In 1937, it became the Cheltenham School for Boys (Chapter 70, Acts of 1937). The School was renamed Boys' Village of Maryland in 1949 (Chapter 692, Acts of 1949). In May 1991, a unit for girls was transferred to the facility from the Charles H. Hickey, Jr., School. [That unit moved to the Thomas J. S. Waxter Children's Center in January 2000.] Boys' Village of Maryland was renamed Cheltenham Youth Facility in 1992 (Chapter 8, Acts of 1992).

In Prince George's County, Cheltenham consists of several cottages on a 900-acre semi-rural campus. The Facility provides for the care and detention of up to eighty-six youths (from as young as age 12 to as old as age 18), awaiting trial or court disposition from Anne Arundel, Prince George's, Calvert, Charles and St. Mary's counties (Code Human Services Article, sec. 9-238.1). Another cottage outside the secure perimeter houses a community residential program known as "Redirect" with space for up to 24 delinquent youth who need supervision but are not deemed dangerous to themselves or others.

ALFRED D. NOYES CHILDREN'S CENTER
9925 Blackwell Road, Rockville, MD 20850

The Alfred D. Noyes Children's Center was authorized in 1970 (Chapter 101, Acts of 1970; Chapter 179, Acts of 1972, as modified in the General Construction Loan Act of 1974). It was named for Alfred D. Noyes, the Judge for Juvenile Causes in Montgomery County at the time of the Center's creation. Formerly administered under Western Regional Operations, the Center transferred to Detention and Residential Operations under Residential Services in July 2007. Since February 2009, the Center has been under the Metro Region.

Opened in September 1977, the Center is a secure regional detention facility for youths primarily from Montgomery county, but also from Frederick, Howard and Washington counties. Located in a semi-urban part of Montgomery County, it can serve up to 57 young people (age 12 to age 18) (Code Human Services Article, secs. 9-226 through 9-246).

SOUTHERN REGION

THOMAS J. S. WAXTER CHILDREN'S CENTER
[YOUNG WOMEN'S FACILITY OF MARYLAND AT WAXTER]
375 Red Clay Road, SW, Laurel, MD 20724 - 9786

The Thomas J. S. Waxter Children's Center started in November 1963. At that time, it was called the Southern Maryland Children's Center (Chapter 38, Acts of 1962). The Center was renamed in 1963 to honor Thomas J. S. Waxter, the Director of the State Department of Public Welfare from 1953 until his death in 1962. (Chapter 131, Acts of 1963).

The Center is a facility for juvenile detention. Originally designed for both boys and girls, it became a center only for girls in January 2000, and until November 2011 was Maryland's only secure commitment facility for girls. Alternately known as the Young Women's Facility of Maryland at Waxter, it houses in detention up to fifty females (from as young as age 10 to as old as age 19). Located in a semi-rural part of Anne Arundel County, the Center receives young women from across the whole State (Code Human Services Article, sec. 9-238.1).

Beginning in November 2011, girls committed by the courts will be moved to the J. DeWeese Carter Center for its secure commitment program.

WESTERN REGION

The Western Region organized in July 2006 as Western Regional Operations, established as a pilot program in the Department's plan to convert to integrated regional delivery of services. The service area encompassed by the Western Region includes seven counties: Allegany, Carroll, Frederick, Garrett, Howard, Montgomery, and Washington.

The Western Region oversees the Area Offices located in western Maryland, which provide community-based services, such as intake probation and aftercare. Western Regional Operations also is responsible for six facilities: Backbone Mountain Youth Center; Victor Cullen Center; Green Ridge Regional Youth Center; Meadow Mountain Youth Center; Savage Mountain Youth Center; and Western Maryland Children's Center.

FACILITIES
1 James Day Drive, Cumberland, MD 21502

The Department of Juvenile Services operates the Victor Cullen Center, Western Maryland Children's Center, and four Youth Centers in Western Maryland. Youth Centers serve 36-40 older boys committed by various State courts and jurisdictions (Chapter 370, Acts of 1955). To be eligible for a youth center, boys must be at least 14 years of age and in good physical health. At Youth Centers, they live and work outdoors. Group activities are stressed, including group counseling and discussion, and working well in groups is an important goal of treatment.

In 1955, the Youth Centers began as Boys Forestry Camps. They were renamed Youth Centers by the Board of Public Works on September 20, 1977. The Centers are administered in Cumberland (Code Human Services Article, sec. 9-238.1).

BACKBONE MOUNTAIN YOUTH CENTER
Route 1, 124 Camp 4 Road, Swanton, MD 21562

In 1964, the General Assembly appropriated funds to establish a forestry camp at Backbone Mountain in Garrett County with room for thirty-five boys (Chapter 159, Acts of 1964). The Camp opened in May 1966. It was renamed Backbone Mountain Youth Center in 1977. Initiated in 1996, the Leadership Challenge Program (known as boot camp) ended at Backbone Mountain in December 1999.

VICTOR CULLEN CENTER
6000 Cullen Drive, Sabillasville, MD 21780

Opened in September 1992, Victor Cullen Center is a secure commitment facility for delinquent boys in northwest Frederick County. The Center was a State facility operated by a private firm under contract with the Department. In April 2002, the Center closed temporarily, remained closed due to budget constraints, but reopened under State administration as a regional committed treatment center in July 2007.

Victor Cullen Center, Sabillasville, Maryland, July 2007. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

Formerly, Cullen Center treated up to 184 teenage boys who stayed an average of six months. As a regional center, it has the capacity to care for 48 boys between the ages of 15 and 18. They enroll in a six- to nine-month treatment program for mental health and substance abuse.

Cullen Center origins date to 1908 when the State Sanatorium for tuberculosis patients was established on the site. Placed under the Department of Health in 1949, the Sanatorium was renamed Victor Cullen State Hospital after Victor F. Cullen, M.D., a former member of the State Board of Health. The Hospital reorganized in 1965 as the Victor Cullen School, a training or reform school for boys under the State Department of Public Welfare (Chapter 818, Acts of 1965). The School transferred in 1967 to the Juvenile Services Administration, and in 1974, as the Victor Cullen Center, to what became the Developmental Disabilities Administration of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The Center closed in 1991, reopened under the Department of Juvenile Services as the Victor Cullen Academy in 1992, continued under the Department of Juvenile Justice from 1995 to 2003, and now falls under the Department of Juvenile Services. In October 2000, the Academy was renamed again the Victor Cullen Center (Chapter 223, Acts of 2000).

GREEN RIDGE REGIONAL YOUTH CENTER
P. O. Box 51, Fifteen Mile Creek Road, Flintstone, MD 21530 - 0051

Green Ridge Regional Youth Center started in May 1955 as Green Ridge Forestry Camp for Boys in Allegany County. Originally, the Camp was run by the State Department of Public Welfare in cooperation with the State Department of Forests and Parks. In 1977, the Camp was renamed Green Ridge Youth Center, and Green Ridge Regional Youth Center in July 2006. Located outside of Flintstone, the Center accommodates thirty-five boys.

MEADOW MOUNTAIN YOUTH CENTER
234 Recovery Road, Grantsville, MD 21535 - 0075

Meadow Mountain Youth Center formed as Meadow Mountain Forestry Camp for Boys in June 1958 (Chapter 454, Acts of 1957). The Camp reopened as Meadow Mountain Youth Center in October 1984. In Garrett County, the Center has facilities for thirty boys. Started in 1998, its Leadership Challenge Program (known as boot camp), concluded in December 1999. Meadow Mountain Youth Center provides a substance abuse treatment program.

SAVAGE MOUNTAIN YOUTH CENTER
164 Freedom Lane, Lonaconing, MD 21539

The success of the first boys' forestry camp at Green Ridge prompted the General Assembly to appropriate funds for additional facilities in 1956 (Chapter 98, Acts of 1956). Lonaconing Forestry Camp for Boys opened in December 1957. Renamed Savage Mountain Youth Center in 1977, the Center closed in Dec. 1999 at the same time the Center's Leadership Challenge Program ended. The Center reopened in April 2001.

WESTERN MARYLAND CHILDREN'S CENTER
18420 Roxbury Road, Hagerstown, MD 21740

The Western Maryland Children's Center in Hagerstown, Washington County, opened September 24, 2003. The Center houses up to twenty-four youth from Allegany, Frederick, Garrett and Washington counties. Youth detained at the Center are evaluated to determine their educational, medical, mental health, substance abuse and case management needs.

SUPPORT SERVICES

Headed by a Deputy Secretary, Support Services is responsible for six offices: Budget and Finance; Capital Planning; General Services; Human Resources; Information Technology; and Research and Evaluation.

BUDGET & FINANCE

This office oversees Accounting; Budget; Capital Planning; Grant and Resource Development; Grant Finance; and Youth Assistance.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

The Department's client database (ISYS) is operated and maintained by Information Technology. This office provides technical assistance on all computer-related matters, and supports, procures, and maintains the Department's personal computers and associated applications. For the year 2000, Information Technology set up a statewide computer network to enhance communication capabilities and support a new work flow system.

Information Technology is responsible for three units: Data Processing Functional Analysis; Data Processing Technical Support; and Telecommunications and Security Systems.

OFFICE OF RESEARCH & EVALUATION

The Office oversees Program Evaluation; Research; and StateStat.

RESEARCH
In March 2004, the research function from Research and Program Development became Research and Planning under Equal Justice and Policy. In July 2005, Research and Planning moved under Departmental Support, and in June 2007 transferred to Quality Assurance and Accountability. In December 2008, it reformed as Research and Evaluation (Code Human Services Article, sec. 9-220). In February 2009, it moved to the Office of Strategic Analysis, which reformed as the Office of Research, Evaluation, and Planning in January 2010. Research and Evaluation as a unit reformed as Research under the Office of Research and Evaluation in May 2011.

Research provides data and research to support Departmental planning, policy, and budgeting. Also, it is responsible for annual statistical reports, quarterly reports on juvenile detention alternative initiatives, and other critical documents.

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