Juvenile Crime Prevention Spotlight on Caroline, Prince George’s, and Anne Arundel Programs at #MACoCon

Juvenile justice relies heavily on effective services to deter criminal activity in youth, and many counties are doing incredible work. 

The second part of the juvenile justice panel series at the 2023 MACo Winter Conference showcased local juvenile offender diversion programs across the counties. While effective centralized services through the Department of Juvenile Services (DJS) are necessary, the local programs are an immediate touch point in the community that help divert youth offenders before crimes have escalated or continued. The primary takeaway seemed to be that community based supports are indispensable and an open line of communication with DJS is paramount to achieving successful long-term outcomes.

A teen court program in Caroline, a Fresh START program in the Anne Arundel County Police Department, and the Prince George’s Local Management Board’s Child In Need of Supervision programs are seeing incredible results. But one sentiment was reiterated across the board – the biggest service gaps exist for the most serious youth offenders. While these local programs show better results year over year for the majority of youth in their care, the small amount of the most serious offenders who “flunk out” or are ineligible for their programs are being left behind in droves. Much of this was attributed to the lack of intensive, integrated, and trauma-informed services that incredibly vulnerable children need. Panelists agreed that, on the brightside, this is a relatively small group of children in the big picture of juvenile crime, but they are the most likely for crimes to continue and escalate and those services are the most expensive to fulfill.

Title: Juvenile Justice, Pt 2: The Kids Aren’t All Right – Local Diversion Programs and Strategies

Speakers:

    • Laurie Plutschak – Caroline County, Teen Court Coordinator
    • Stephanie Hinson – Anne Arundel County Police Department
    • Major Sara Schriver – Anne Arundel County Police Department
    • Orethea Y. Mattison – Director, Prince George’s County Local Management Board

Moderator: The Honorable Senator Jill P. Carter