It is “one of the most troubling and challenging agencies we have to reform,” Gov. Martin O?Malley said Wednesday about the Department of Juvenile Services.
Soon-to-be Director of Juvenile Services Donald DeVore put it more bluntly; “The system is in crisis.”
DeVore is the director of juvenile services in Connecticut, but he also runs his own consulting business.
The U.S. Department of Justice hired him as a monitor for juvenile justice agencies around the country.
One of the most knowledgeable lawmakers on juvenile issues, Sen. Bobby Zirkin, D-Baltimore County, described DeVore as “a mover and shaker” in the field.
“His reputation precedes him,” said Zirkin, who had dinner with Devore and O?Malley Tuesday night. “He seemed very passionate. Anybody who is involved in this issue knows about Maryland because we have one of the worst systems in the country.”
DeVore said he will take office “with a strong management team,” with some of “the most talented and diverse” people in the business.
There are “a lot of good people” in the current department, but “there has been a lack of leadership and vision,” he said. “You can expect us to hit the ground running.”
Both DeVore and Zirkin said they admire what is called the Missouri model, which DeVore described as “the gold standard” for juvenile services.
That model is based on small regional facilities and family-based care where the services are provided by state employees and not contracted out, as many Maryland services are.
“The private sector is in complete control of our system,” Zirkin said.
DeVore?s ideas “are very much in line with a lot of the bills I?ve introduced,” Zirkin said.
“It?s been a long, long time since we have had a professional running the Department of Juvenile Services,” O?Malley said.
Juvenile Services is one of three “troubled” departments where O?Malley will introduce his new program of detailed management performance measures titled StateStat next month.
The others are Correctional Services and Human Resources.
