Intake and Pre-Adjudication Services

Intake responsibilities

DJS oversees statewide intake operations. The Intake and Pre-Adjudication Services unit is responsible for:

Managing and monitoring a consistent statewide approach for the review of intake complaints.
Conducting appropriate assessments and reviews.
Providing continuum of care services through a dedicated case manager.
Making service referrals to promote the best interest of the child and public safety.
Assessing complaints to determine whether the juvenile court has jurisdiction and whether judicial action is in the best interest of the child and/or the public.
Supervising DJS-involved youth who have been placed on informal (or pre-court) supervision
Providing youth and families access to services and support that address risk and needs and increase opportunities for positive outcomes in school, the workforce, and the community.

Guiding principals

Throughout the intake process, staff focus on positive youth development and family engagement. Positive youth development recognizes and builds on each young person’s strengths. We actively involve the youth and their family in planning decisions.

DJS case managers are guided by principles to:

Divert youth from court involvement when possible;
Hold youth accountable for harm to victims and communities;
Increase access to services and supports that address risk and needs;
Increase opportunities for positive outcomes in school, workforce, and community;
Ensure developmentally appropriate decisions;
Prioritize restorative approaches;
Foster positive youth development and resiliency;
Engage youth and family in case planning; and
Identify trauma and understand the impact of traumatic experiences.

These approaches, together with these guiding principles, support better outcomes for young people.

Fair and equitable decisions

Intake decisions

When intake officers receive complaints from people or organizations—such as community members, schools, victims, or law enforcement—case managers meet with the youth and their parent or guardian. If appropriate, they may also speak with the victim.

Staff use the Intake Decision Tool to help understand the youth’s situation. The tool helps staff:

Assess the likelihood that a youth may reoffend
Identify the youth’s strengths
Identify service and support needs

The tool was developed in partnership with the University of Maryland and introduced in July 2020. The tool is intended to support fair, consistent, and developmentally appropriate decisions. It integrates national best practices, data, and lessons learned from the experiences of youth in Maryland’s juvenile justice system.

Based on assessments, DJS will decide to do one of three things:

Resolve the case with or without services.
Handle the case informally, under a pre-court supervision agreement. If successful, the case will be resolved instead of going to court.
Forward the case to the State’s Attorney’s office to likely go to court.

When possible, the department works to keep youth out of the court system and connect them and their families with services. This can include supervising higher-risk youth in the community and providing support that helps reduce the chance of future involvement in the system.

Detention decisions

Under Maryland law, the Department of Juvenile Services is required to manage and supervise all detained youth in the juvenile justice system. A court may order a youth to be detained either in the community or in one of five secure juvenile detention facilities operated by DJS. Most youth in the juvenile justice system are detained in the community under the supervision of DJS.

The goal of DJS's various detention programs is to keep the youth and the community safe and ensure that the youth appears for their court date.

At intake, DJS staff review complaints and decide whether a case should move forward. They sometimes also decide whether a youth should be held in secure detention or released while the case continues.

If a youth has been taken into custody and police request detention, Intake Officers will decide whether the youth should:

Be held in secure detention,
Be released to the community on an alternative to detention, or
Be released to a parent, guardian, or other responsible adult, sometimes with conditions set by the court.

How detention decisions are made

State law requires Intake Officers to approve detention if it is necessary to:

Protect the youth or others, or
Prevent the youth from leaving the court’s jurisdiction or missing court.

Detention decisions are guided by a standardized tool called the Detention Risk Assessment Instrument (DRAI). This tool helps staff estimate the likelihood that a youth may reoffend or miss a court date.

The DRAI uses scored risk factors based on research and data to ensure objective criteria are used to make detention decisions. By law, the tool is reviewed and validated at least every five years to ensure it continues to predict outcomes accurately.

Alternatives to detention

Youth not detained by DJS are released to a caregiver. Some may have no additional restrictions or conditions, while others are required to participate in an ATD program pending their detention hearing. These include:

Community Detention (CD) allows youth to continue participating in community activities such as school or work to maintain community ties and support systems. This may include electronic monitoring (EM) or GPS monitoring.
Evening Reporting (ER) encompasses programs that provide supervised activities, enrichment, meals, and transportation during hours in which youth are most at risk of committing delinquent acts. This is usually after school through late evening.
Shelter Care may be utilized for youth requiring care in a non-secure setting. Additionally, shelter care can be utilized if a parent, guardian, or custodian is not available to provide supervision and care until the youth returns to court.