Maryland DJS outlines juvenile case flow in Calvert County, emphasizes community-based supervision

Cindy Scribner, a representative of the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services, told the Calvert County juvenile services committee that most juvenile cases in the county are misdemeanors and are handled in the community rather than by detention or out-of-home placement. She said the agency’s role is to provide intake, supervision and treatment recommendations to the court; judges make detention and placement decisions.

Scribner said Calvert County uses detention risk assessments and night intake procedures for after-hours referrals, and that detained youth must be seen at the next court session. “If they are detained, they have to be seen the next court date,” Scribner said. She described the intake process as separate from court: an intake hearing (now held within about 15 days after a referral) can result in case closure, pre-court (90-day) supervision, or referral to the state’s attorney’s office for formal petitioning. “What can happen at an intake hearing is the case can be closed at intake,” she said, giving the example of families that have already connected a youth to therapy and medication.

Scribner outlined statutory changes implemented in 2024 under House Bill 814 that altered…