New leader makes changes at Juvenile Services following oversight report

Betsy Fox Tolentino, acting secretary of the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services, said she agreed with most of the findings documented in an oversight report scrutinizing the conditions of state-run youth detention facilities and has made personnel changes in response.

Fox Tolentino said her letter to the Maryland Office of the Correctional Ombudsman marked “a firm step toward collaborative, measurable reform” and affirmed the agency watchdog will have “the access and support it needs to conduct effective oversight without barriers.”

The first report from Yvonne Briley-Wilson found staff at one Western Maryland facility failed to prevent teens from engaging in sexual activity and criticized the agency’s facility management under the leadership of former Secretary Vincent Schiraldi. It also reported incidents of contraband, poor-quality food and a rise in assaults on staff, among other findings.

“Since day one, I have been deeply troubled by the unacceptable conditions some of our young people are facing,” Fox Tolentino wrote. “Ensuring their safety and treating every youth with dignity, compassion, and respect remain my highest priorities.”

Schiraldi declined to comment on the report.

Gov. Wes Moore appointed Fox Tolentino after Schiraldi resigned in June. The Democratic governor said he had been briefed on the report and trusts Fox Tolentino to make needed changes.

Fox Tolentino said she appointed a new acting secretary of residential services while she conducts a national search. Two other residential services leadership positions are listed as vacant on the agency’s website. She’s also hired a director of the inspector general’s office.

Three of these positions were among seven listed in Briley-Wilson’s report. She recommended Fox Tolentino “reconsider” the people holding those positions as she “restructures” the agency.

An agency spokesperson confirmed Fox Tolentino had “made three personnel changes” as of July 30 but declined to comment further, citing personnel matters.

Michael Sharp said, “Much of what was in the report had already been identified by acting Secretary Fox Tolentino in her first month on the job.”

The report covered the first six months of this year and is the first since Schiraldi’s departure. Schilradi’s then-chief of staff criticized the veracity and quality of the report.

Marc Schindler said the report “was of poor quality, containing inaccurate and misleading information” and “doesn’t appear to be drafted by someone with expertise in youth corrections.”

Briley-Wilson’s report alleged that leadership under Schiraldi limited her access to materials she needed to do her job.

Schindler said the report mischaracterized DJS’ efforts to meet her requests.

“No discussions occurred despite DJS’ repeated attempts to meet and discuss any concerns,” he said.

Briley-Wilson stood by her report and its recommendations and said the monitoring unit “regularly conducted investigations and submitted debriefing reports to DJS.”

She was appointed by Moore last year to provide oversight for the adult and youth detention agencies and after the General Assembly created her office as an independent unit of state government.

”We will continue to provide appropriate oversight and support in our work to uphold public safety, according to our mandate," she said.

Alice Wilkerson of the Maryland Youth Justice Coalition said the report’s findings show, “once again, why incarcerating young people should be avoided, or used only as a last resort” and called on the state to “do better.”

“Decades of experience and research have shown that there are almost always better, more effective and more humane alternatives to incarceration,” Wilkerson said, “as the latter leads to evident abuses and also greater recidivism.”