A convicted criminal worked with children at Maryland facility, audit finds

by Christine Condon, Maryland Matters
May 6, 2025

A state contractor for the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services worked directly with children despite a 2021 assault conviction, according to a recent audit of the department.

The department — which is tasked with housing and providing programs for incarcerated young people, among other functions — failed to consistently ensure that criminal background checks were completed for every contractor working at state juvenile detention centers and treatment facilities, according to the audit.

As of Jan. 3, the contractor, who auditors said was convicted of second-degree assault and possession of a dangerous weapon with the intent to injure, was still working for a DJS vendor.

It was just one of the findings of the 75-page audit released Tuesday by the Office of Legislative Audits, which also reported DJS staff working large amounts of overtime without adequate checks and balances, poorly documented procurements and payments, and a lack of inventories of food and other supplies.

In a written response to auditors, Juvenile Services Secretary Vincent Schiraldi noted that the audit covered April 1, 2020 through Dec. 31, 2023. Gov. Wes Moore (D) took office in January 2023.

“The vast majority of the audit period preceded the current administration. Since coming on board, our team has made it a priority to identify and address operational weaknesses both prior to and throughout the audit period,” Schiraldi wrote.

New law extends Department of Juvenile Services’ reach to children as young as 10

It’s the latest flare-up for the somewhat embattled secretary. In January, Maryland lawmakers grilled Schiraldi during a three-hour hearing about a “troubling” report on the agency’s performance, including concerns about staffing and juveniles who recommit crimes and are returned to the department’s custody.

In its response to the May audit, the agency acknowledged the issues with background checks, and in other areas.

“We agree with the recommendation and have developed a generic email address for all vendors to report the findings of their criminal background checks as part of the employment process,” DJS officials said.

The agency said it will evaluate whether any contract modifications need to be made to address background checks. It estimated that fixes could be in place by Jan. 31, 2026.

Auditors also found that DJS did not require or obtain updates about any criminal activity by vendors after a contract award. If a contractor was convicted of a disqualifying crime after an initial background check, DJS would not know, unless the vendor reported it voluntarily.

The audit results pointed to a high reliance on overtime at DJS facilities.

In 2023, 10 employees received overtime payments that were greater than their base salaries. A top overtime recipient earned nearly $87,000 in overtime payments, supplementing their salary of $56,750. Also in 2023, 244 DJS employees received overtime payments that totaled more than 50% of their regular earnings.

The agency spent $14.9 million on overtime in 2023, exceeding its overtime budget by more than $4 million, according to the audit. It was a significant increase compared to 2021, when the agency paid $10.4 million on overtime, and came in under budget.

The Juvenile Services agency failed to ensure that employees who worked double shifts on four or more consecutive days received approval from the Director of Residential Services.

The agency also did not “ analyze overtime to identify employees who received significant overtime payments and possible steps to reduce the amount of overtime worked,” according to the audit.

YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE.

SUPPORT

In its response, the agency said that it began reviewing overtime in December 2024, and has done so “every pay period since.” The agency pledged to review the policy on double shifts, and general overtime use.

“DJS will review the current process to ensure it is reasonable and provides adequate data to the appropriate staff to make informed assessments of overtime utilization,” read the response from the agency, which said it expects to complete its review by Sept. 30.

The audit also found that, at key facilities, DJS did not conduct required physical inventories of food, medicine, clothing, hygiene products and games, among other items at its facilities.

“For example, at both facilities DJS did not periodically conduct physical inventories or maintain a record of food on hand as required, which would allow for DJS to avoid over-purchasing and waste, and to detect theft,” read the audit.

In his statement to auditors, Schiraldi said that his agency has implemented a new tracking system for the supplies.

“The new system will automate tracking (scan upon receipt) to significantly improve the efficiencies of inventory management,” read the agency’s response.

DJS also failed to check up on its facilities, after its Office of Inspector General identified issues. DJS would receive a corrective action report from the facility staff, but wouldn’t verify that fixes were actually completed, the audit said. In its response, the agency pledged to put fixes in place by June 30, and monitor corrective actions at the facilities.

Maryland schools must now share information on students charged with serious crimes

When it came to signing contracts with vendors, the audit also found that DJS couldn’t provide all the required documentation for five contracts totaling $27.6 million.

“As a result, we could not readily determine the propriety of any of these five awards,” auditors wrote.

To pay its contractors, the agency leaned on “direct voucher payments” 57% of the time in the audit period, circumventing state policy. These payments are made without matching a correlating purchase order or invoice.

In its response, DJS expressed concern about a new policy from the Comptroller’s office, reducing “the timeframe for agencies to process and pay vendor invoices from 25 days to 15 days, which has presented operational challenges in ensuring that purchase orders (POs) are always in place.”

DJS said it checked its own direct voucher payments, and determined that 80% were supported by purchase orders or other documentation.

In one instance, DJS management paid $1.5 million of a $1.7 million price tag to a contractor before work was performed — overruling a DJS staffer. Four months later, the vendor completed the job, which involved installing modular homes at a DJS facility.

The department pledged to provide better documentation of its decision-making, but argued the decision to pre-pay about 90% of the cost for the modular homes was “appropriate to facilitate the timely delivery.”

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: editor@marylandmatters.org.