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Department of Juvenile Services

Maryland Department of Juvenile Services Receives $750,000 in Federal Funding for Second Chance Act Youth Reentry Program

Press Release |

Project to Provide More Services to Youth While Reducing Recidivism

Baltimore, Maryland – The Maryland Department of Juvenile Services today announced that the department received $750,000 from the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to implement the Second Chance Community-Based Reentry program. The program supports comprehensive, multidisciplinary, trauma-informed best practices to promote a community-based reentry for individuals who are committed to the department for out-of-home placement. 

“This grant will enhance our reentry process by connecting youth to services prior to their release so they can have a more seamless transition into community supervision,” said Maryland Department of Juvenile Services Secretary Vinny Schiraldi. “The department understands that there is a better way to serve young people as they navigate the process of reentry, a way that will allow us to help youth meet their fullest potential and reduce recidivism.” 

In FY 2022, the Maryland juvenile court committed 260 young people to the care and custody of the department for out-of-home placement. These young people, who experience tremendous levels of trauma, often find it difficult to maintain long-term behavior change after returning to their community. Without the necessary resources and emotional regulation skills, they often risk cycling through the criminal justice system with limited positive outcomes.

The grant provides DJS to designate community-based organizations to provide post-release care coordination, develop and implement a Multidisciplinary Reentry Collaborative Case Management and Coordination Team, establish a Reentry Advisory Board, and implement evidence-based risk and need screening and assessment tools/process. 

The funding supports the department’s comprehensive and coordinated set of community-based and residential services to help meet young people’s needs and reduce recidivism, regardless of their level of risk or readiness. Specifically, the project will leverage recent legislative and agency reform strategies to direct support, resources, and action aimed at enhancing the reentry processes, including: 

  • Promoting comprehensive treatment – Connecting residential-based treatment to community-based treatment to return young people to their communities and natural supports as soon as practicable.
  • Supporting long-term committed young people – Ensuring young people who will age out of the juvenile justice system with the necessary connections to achieve independence.
  • Supporting emerging adults – Developing resources to meet the unique housing, employment, and education needs of people aged 18-21 who are returning to their communities as adults.
  • Supporting high-risk young people – Enhancing protocols to keep young people safe and mitigate the chances that they will engage in violence when returning to their community.