With his agency under constant scrutiny, Maryland Department of Juvenile Services Secretary Vincent Schiraldi fielded questions Wednesday from frustrated lawmakers in Annapolis.

Schiraldi, who has faced calls to resign from Marylanders aggravated by the state’s juvenile justice system, was peppered with questions a year after lawmakers passed major policies to revamp the agency. Several lawmakers expressed dismay that reform isn’t happening quickly enough.

“This is an oil tanker, not a speed boat,” Schiraldi said of the Department of Juvenile Services.

Schiraldi inherited a department riddled with problems when he was appointed secretary by Gov. Wes Moore at the beginning of his term. According to the secretary, programs and services for kids in need atrophied under the previous administration after the agency returned nearly $10 million of its annual budget for the better part of a decade.

Members of both parties recoiled at youth recidivism data Schiraldi presented Wednesday, questioning its veracity because cases where children re-offend are often resolved at intake and referred to outside programming. This means they do not re-enter the juvenile justice system. For example, according to the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability, 66% of second-degree assault complaints against minors are resolved at intake, as are 54% of third complaints regarding second-degree assault offenses.

According to the Department of Juvenile Services, recidivism decreased 7% between 2017 and 2022, the most recent year for which data was available. Schiraldi became head of the agency in early 2023.

Lawmakers pushed back against Schiraldi when he touted the reduction in recidivism.

“The recidivism that you’re quoting isn’t even from when you were here, sir,” Sen. William Folden, a Frederick County Republican, said to Schiraldi Wednesday. “You don’t have any numbers to support that.”

Folden and fellow Republican Sen. Mike McKay of Western Maryland raised concerns to Schiraldi about staff safety at youth facilities around the state.

“Your staffing numbers are down, and we have workers who are being required to work more because the increase on the assaults on staff are up, and thereby you have more workers off on worker’s comp. Is that accurate?” Folden asked.

Schiraldi disputed the assertion that staffing is decreasing within the agency, noting that the Department of Juvenile Services vacancy rate has declined 5% since he became secretary nearly two years ago. He was unsure if disability claims among staff were on the rise.

Schiraldi did acknowledge that youth assaults against staff members are “up and down” based on the facility.

“Overall, they haven’t changed dramatically, from what I understand,” he said.

According to Schiraldi, staff tend to be most at risk of injury or attack when the kids under their care are idle. To mitigate that, the agency partnered with the Department of Natural Resources and the Department of the Environment to give them employment opportunities.

Republicans have been wary of Schiraldi’s juvenile justice philosophy since Moore nominated him, with many believing that he doesn’t hold kids accountable for their actions.

“I may not necessarily understand or agree a hundred percent, but I do believe your heart’s in the right direction,” McKay said. “But there’s a part of our population in the state of Maryland that just doesn’t understand the manner in which you’re leading us.”

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