Senate committee again ponders bill to reduce the number of juveniles charged as adults

by William J. Ford, Maryland Matters
February 5, 2026

Sen. William C. Smith Jr. (D-Montgomery) was testifying on his bill to end the practice of automatically charging some youth as adults Wednesday when he gave a small history lesson.

Smith showed the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee a historic photo of the House of Reformation and Instruction for Colored Children, which opened around 1870 — about 20 years after the House of Refuge for juvenile offenders. That facility, on the site of what is the current Charles Hickey School, was reserved for white children.

The language to talk about Black and white children “in our criminal justice system is loaded,” Smith said.

“That’s the kind of the long backdrop in the history of where we are today,” he said during the 95-minute bill hearing. “As I’ve said before, there’s a direct nexus and I can rely on this history to current practices that we’re engaging.”

Senate Bill 323 is Smith’s second attempt in as many years to raise the age at which a juvenile would be tried as an adult for certain crimes, from 14 to 16. Smith said several of the 33 offenses that would now land a youth in adult court would be sent straight to juvenile court under the bill, including second-degree rape, third-degree sex offense and certain firearms offenses.

One change from last year’s legislation is that a youth previously convicted of a felony and then charged as an adult, would have that case tried in adult court, Smith said.

As they did last year, police and prosecutors pushed back against this year’s bill, arguing that it would decrease public safety by letting certain violent offenses land directly in juvenile court.

“Maryland’s existing juvenile justice framework already provides a balanced case-to-case process that allows courts to evaluate the severity of an offense,” said North East Police Chief Stephen Yates, who testified on behalf of both the Maryland associations for police chiefs and for sheriffs. “This bill minimizes accountability, and particularly for juveniles charged with the most serious offenses and dangerous offenses.”

But Sen. Chris West (R-Baltimore and Carroll), a co-sponsor on this year’s bill, said after the hearing he supports the measure to ensure judicial consistency.

“Start the cases in the jurisdiction, whether adult or juvenile, where they’re most likely to end up based on the statistics that we have at our disposal,” West said. “Why would we want to multiply and waste legal, judicial, etc. resources having two trials for each case, if we can avoid it?”

Juvenile services

But critics of the bill also focused on the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services, which houses and oversees troubled youth that have been in and out of the court system. Pam Chung, juvenile division chief in the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s office, said the department cannot handle the additional workload needed to provide youth services if more cases come through juvenile court.

“DJS is unable to meet the needs of the youth currently under their supervision,” Chung said. “The agency is unable to support the idealism behind this bill. Across the state, juvenile court systems would become overwhelmed with the influx of cases.”

Chung cited a report released last month by the Maryland Office of the Correctional Ombudsman. The report covers July through September 2025 at five juvenile facilities, three placement centers and three smaller programs. It details unclean or poorly maintained living units and bathrooms, staffing shortages, lack of educational programs and rodent infestation at the Baltimore City Juvenile Justice Center.

Sen. Jeff Waldstreicher (D-Montgomery), vice chair of the committee, acknowledged the panel has supported but hesitant to back the legislation “because of the previous leadership of the department.” He asked Acting Juvenile Services Secretary Betsy Fox Tolentino, who came on board in June, whether accountability, rehabilitation and public safety will be in place for youth.

Fox Tolentino said the agency continues to improve, adding 50 new positions to residential facilities, investing $33 million in community-based programming and providing staff with safety training in partnership with Maryland State Police and the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.

Juvenile Services also launched a data dashboard with information on intake, detention and community supervision.

“We are rebuilding relationships. None of this system works well in a vacuum. Department of Juvenile Services can’t do this on its own,” Fox Tolentino said. “But when we have effective relationships with law enforcement, with state’s attorneys, with public defenders, with community, we can sustain real change that will get us the outcomes that all of us want to see for our kids, for our victims and our communities.”

Before Fox Tolentino stepped away from the lectern, she received a bit of an endorsement from Sen. Mike McKay (R-Western Maryland), who noted that she worked in juvenile services as deputy secretary of community operations, a position created by the General Assembly in 2021.

“I believe with you at the helm and going forward and making these changes that this department will be able to report back to this committee that we are in a good helm, you can be safe with the outcomes and it’s a brighter future for the department. Isn’t that so?” McKay said.

Fox Tolentino replied: “Thank you so much, senator.”

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