Juvenile Justice Terms and Concepts
A - terms
Absent Without Leave (AWOL): A condition describing a youth who absconds from a non-secure residential program.
Accountability, Confidence, Communication, Economic self-sufficiency, Skills training, & Success (ACCESS): A program providing intensive supervision support from credible messengers for youth who are placed by the courts in the community while their cases are pending. This was formerly known as the Detention Diversion Advocacy Program (DDAP).
ACCUPLACER: A post-secondary assessment given by JSEP to help colleges assess student readiness for introductory credit-bearing courses and make reliable placement decisions for students.
Accountability Incentives Management (AIM): A structured statewide system of responses to deter negative behaviors and encourage positive behaviors of youth under court-ordered community supervision. AIM seeks to reduce technical violations of supervision by ensuring certain, fair, and immediate responses to youth behavior to promote successful completion of supervision.
Adjudicatory Hearing: A proceeding before a juvenile judge or magistrate to determine whether allegations made against a youth are true. If the allegations concerning the commitment of a delinquent act are found to be “facts sustained,” the youth may be adjudicated delinquent.
Admission: See definitions for “commitment versus placement” and “placement versus admission.”
Aftercare: Supervision and individualized treatment services provided to youth in the community following discharge from a residential program. A youth is assigned an aftercare worker at the time of commitment.
Alternatives to Detention (ATD): Community-based program options that provide structured supervision and accountability of youth who would otherwise be detained pending adjudicatory hearings in the juvenile court.
ASSIST: The Automated Statewide System of Information Support Tools used as the DJS client database from 1999-present.
Average Daily Population (ADP): Daily population of youth averaged over the number of days in a given time period.
Average Length of Stay (ALOS): Average total number of days per youth in placement, generally residential, between admission and release. Youth detained in more than one facility during a contiguous stay are counted as a single placement. For youth in committed treatment facilities who are temporarily quarantined in another facility, those days are “credited” to their original facility length of stay.
C - terms
Career and Technical Education (CTE): CTE courses prepare students for in-demand, high-skilled, and high-waged jobs. CTE courses allow students to earn industry-recognized certificates, earn credits toward graduation, and gain work experience.
Case Management Specialist (CMS): DJS staff who provides case management services to youth in community and residential settings. Case managers provide supervision, develop treatment plans, link youth with necessary resources and services, monitor progress, and modify treatment plans as needed.
Central Review Committee (CRC): A committee that convenes weekly to hear case reviews of youth at risk of removal from a committed treatment placement, direct changes in the youths’ provision of services, and make youth placement transfer decisions. Members include the Directors of the Behavioral Health and Resource Offices, the Executive Directors of Residential Placements and Community Supervision, and a representative from the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE).
Certificate of Placement (COP): The document that reflects a youth’s placement location, services, and authorizes service payment.
Child in Need of Assistance (CINA): A youth who is found by the court to require court intervention, such as removal from the home and placement with a foster family or relative, because of abuse or neglect by a parent, guardian, or other person responsible for their care.
Child in Need of Supervision (CINS): A youth who is found by the court to need guidance, treatment, or rehabilitation because the youth committed an offense applicable only to children, is habitually truant, a runaway, poses a risk of injury to themselves or others, or is ungovernable (See definition for “Ungovernable”).
Cognitive Behavioral Theory: The theory that people’s thoughts, feelings, and actions affect each other cyclically and can sometimes keep people stuck in unhelpful patterns. The applied theory helps people identify patterns and learn skills to disrupt them. Use of Cognitive Behavioral Theory in treatment has been shown by research to reduce violence; help people cope with trauma, anxiety, and depression; and ultimately prevent crime by changing the lives of youth involved in gangs, gun violence, and substance abuse.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): A problem-focused, evidence-based form of treatment that puts into practice Cognitive Behavioral Theory. Commission on Juvenile Justice Reform and Emerging and Best Practices: A statewide commission to review and report on juvenile services, facilities, and programs in Maryland. Authorized by 2024 legislation, the commission is housed within the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention and Policy. In addition to reviewing and reporting on juvenile services and facilities, the 26-member commission is charged with reviewing programs to divert children from the juvenile justice system; support programming for girls in the juvenile justice system; and oversee the use of child-in-need-of-supervision petitions, the number of petitions authorized or denied by jurisdiction, and wait times for placement of children in facilities.
Commitment versus Placement: A youth adjudicated as delinquent by the juvenile court may receive a disposition for commitment, which is a court order placing a delinquent youth in the Department’s care, which allows for placement into an out-of-home treatment program. In some cases, services may instead be provided in the child’s home, so not all committed youth are placed out of home. Those who are may wait some weeks in a detention facility pending placement; therefore, the date of committed disposition and of placement may differ. A placement to an out-of-home program could also be the result of multiple commitments - a youth may be committed on multiple charges - and a youth may be admitted to several programs under a single commitment order. Thus, the number of committed dispositions will not equal the number of placements or admissions to treatment programs.
Community Assistance for the Release Eligible (CARE): A new program that will work with system-involved youth who are neither detained nor placed on community detention to support them and their families and provide service referrals and courses to prepare students for in-demand, high-skilled, and high-waged jobs.
Community Detention (CD): A DJS program that monitors a delinquent child or a child alleged to be delinquent who is placed in the home of a parent, guardian, custodian, other fit person, or in shelter care, as a condition of probation or as an alternative to detention (ATD). Community detention often includes electronic monitoring (EM).
Complaint: A written statement made to a DJS intake officer by an individual, police agency, or another agency that alleges that a youth (or more than one youth) has committed one or more delinquent acts or is a runaway, truant, ungovernable, or a danger to self or others and may be subject to juvenile court jurisdiction. A complaint may also be referred to as an intake case and is an important unit of analysis in this Data Resource Guide.
Comprehensive Treatment Model (CTM): A DJS policy developed to better match treatment services and length of stay to youth needs. Implemented in 2023, CTM seeks to enhance the youth’s experience within residential treatment programs and increase community success.
Court Remand for Informal Action (CRIA): A petition forwarded to the juvenile court that is returned to DJS Intake with the consent of all parties prior to an adjudicatory hearing, allowing it to be handled informally as a pre-court case. At the conclusion of the pre-court supervision, the court is notified of the outcome and either dismisses or continues the proceedings.
Credible Messengers: Persons with lived experiences who, paired with case managers, serve as life coaches to youth. Credible messengers are utilized in several programs, including the Thrive Academy and the ACCESS program.
Crimes of Violence (COV): Offenses designated as crimes of violence in Maryland’s Annotated Code, Criminal Justice Article, §14-101 (see Appendix G for more detail). These include primarily felony offenses, but also some misdemeanors.
Crossover Youth Practice Model (CYPM): A program to coordinate casework of youth who are dually involved in both the juvenile justice system and the child welfare system and to foster increased communication and collaboration between the staff members of DJS and local Department of Social Services (DSS). DJS partnered with Georgetown University to implement the CYPM in Prince George’s County in 2015. Since then, the model has been slowly rolled out in other Maryland counties.
D - terms
Delinquent Act: An act which would be a crime if committed by an adult.
Delinquent Child: A child who has committed a delinquent act according to the decision of a judge or magistrate and requires guidance, treatment, or rehabilitation.
Detention: The temporary care of youth who, pending court dispositions and other hearings, require secure custody for the protection of themselves or the community, in physically restricting facilities or circumstances. A youth may be detained if a court determines that they might fail to appear for a future hearing, continue to break the law, or pose a threat to the public or themselves. Detention may be utilized pending a court hearing or after disposition. A youth’s detention status is generally required to be reviewed every 14 days.
Detention Hearing: A court proceeding to determine whether a youth shall be placed in or continue in detention. This decision is separate and distinct from the decision on whether to proceed with any relevant charges.
Detention Risk Assessment Instrument (DRAI): A statistically validated assessment of a youth’s risk to reoffend and/or fail to appear for future court dates used to guide whether the youth should be detained, placed in a detention alternative, or released to a parent/guardian. The DRAI was revalidated and the revised tool has been in place since February 1, 2025.
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT): An evidence-based, cognitive behavioral intervention that helps individuals learn how to better manage negative emotions, reduce impulsive and other negative behaviors, improve relationships, and improve the quality of their lives. DBT has four components: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness and involves a combination of individual therapy, skills groups, and coaching. DBT is the linchpin treatment modality in DJS facilities as part of CTM.
Direct Care Staff: An employee whose primary duty is to provide direct supervision of youth.
Disposition: The decision made by the juvenile court that outlines whether the youth requires guidance, treatment, or rehabilitation and, if so, the nature of such assistance, e.g., probation terms or commitment. (Note: In adult courts, this is known as a “sentence.”)
Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC): A rate of contact with the juvenile justice system or a point within the juvenile justice system among youth of a specific minority group that is significantly different from the rate of contact for whites (i.e., non-Hispanic White) or for other minority groups (See RRI definition).
Diversion: A program or practice where the primary goal is to reduce the occurrence of juvenile delinquency by diverting a youth from the traditional juvenile justice system and providing an alternative to formal processing. Diversion may occur at various stages: Youth may be diverted from a formal juvenile complaint (e.g., by law enforcement), diverted from formal court processing by DJS intake, or diverted from out-of-home placement by the juvenile court.
E - terms
Electronic Monitoring (EM): The use of a device to provide close monitoring of youth in the community as an alternative to residential placement/detention. Youth wear an ankle bracelet that electronically monitors their movement and compliance with established location parameters.
Escape: Absconding from a secure DJS treatment program (including Youth Centers), detention facility, or Community Detention.
Evening Reporting Center (ERC): A program that serves youth as an alternative to detention. Youth are required to report daily, and the program includes transportation, meals, and enrichment activities. ERC ensures that youth are monitored and get back to court for hearings.
Expungement: The removal of court or police records from public inspection. In Maryland, a person may ask a court to expunge a juvenile record under certain criteria including: at least 2 years have passed, the person has been adjudicated delinquent one time or fewer, and the offense is not a felony or sex offense. The juvenile expungement process includes notice to the victim(s) and the opportunity for the State’s Attorney and victim(s) to object to the petition.
Evidence-Based Services (EBS): Programs that have been found to be effective based on the results of rigorous evaluations.
F- terms
Family Centered Treatment (FCT): A trauma treatment model of home-based therapy designed for families who are at risk of dissolution or in need of reunification. It is also designed to serve youth who move among the child welfare, behavioral health, and juvenile justice systems. During treatment, FCT practitioners aim to help families identify their core emotional issues, identify functions of behaviors in a family systems context, change the emotional tone and behavioral interaction patterns among family members, and develop secure relationships by strengthening attachment bonds.
Family Engagement: Family engagement in youth justice involves collaborative work relationships in which families partner with public agency officials to plan and implement treatment for system-involved youth, as well as provide insight about the policies, programs, and practices of the system that improve outcomes for youth and families.
Family Peer Support Initiative: A program that connects DJS youth and families at any stage of DJS contact with a family peer support specialist who has had previous experience with the juvenile justice system. Family peer support specialists help guide a family through the juvenile justice process, connect families to community-based services, and increase family empowerment. The program began in 2018 in Baltimore City and Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Prince George’s, and Wicomico counties.
Family Therapy: A type of behavioral health intervention designed to identify and address family patterns and issues that affect the functioning of the family as a whole, and individual family members. These may include behavioral patterns and issues, mental health and substance use issues, patterns and styles of communication, as well as family transitions and changes.
Felony vs. Misdemeanor: In Maryland a crime is either a felony or a misdemeanor. (Crime of violence is a separate designation independent of felony/misdemeanor status). Generally, felonies are the more serious of these two types of crimes. However, there is no clear line for determining whether a crime is a felony or misdemeanor based on the statutory maximum penalty associated with the offense. Unless specified in a statute or the offense was a felony at common law, a crime is considered a misdemeanor. Most statutes specify whether a crime is a misdemeanor or a felony. Common law crimes retain common law grades as either felonies or misdemeanors unless changed through the legislative process. The General Assembly may choose to label a statutory crime a felony or misdemeanor independent of the amount of punishment the statute provides. The General Assembly may also choose to change the status of a crime from a misdemeanor to a felony or a felony to a misdemeanor.
Fiscal Year (FY): The time period measured from July 1 of one year to June 30 of the following year. FY 2025 runs from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025.
For Authorization of Formal Petition (FAFP): A decision by a DJS intake officer to authorize the State’s Attorney to petition the court for formal processing of a juvenile complaint.
Functional Family Therapy (FFT - an EBS): An outcome-driven prevention/intervention program for youth demonstrating the entire range of maladaptive behaviors such as delinquency, violence, substance use, Conduct Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, or Disruptive Behavior Disorder. Flexible delivery of service is provided by one- or two-person teams to clients in home, clinic, school, juvenile court, community-based programs, and at re-entry from institutional placement.
G - terms
General Educational Development (GED): A four-subject high school equivalency test that measures skills required by high schools. The four subjects are science, social studies, math, and reasoning through language arts. A Maryland High School Diploma is awarded to those passing all four modules of the GED tests. JSEP affords all students the opportunity, when appropriate, to obtain a diploma by exam. JSEP has Pearson Virtual University Enterprises (VUE) GED labs at the Charles H. Hickey School and Green Ridge Youth Center. Testers are limited to three tests per module per calendar year. If additional retests are needed, the tester must wait until January 1 next year to schedule retest(s).
Global Positioning System (GPS): A global navigation satellite system that provides location and time information for youth monitored with a global positioning system receiver.
Group Home: A residential program licensed by DHS, DJS, or MDH to provide 24-hour supervised out-of-home care for 4 or more youth providing a formal program of basic care, social work, and health care services.
H - terms
Hardware Secure Facility: A facility that relies primarily on the use of construction and hardware such as locks, bars, and fences to restrict freedom.
I - terms
Individual Learning Plan (ILP): A document initiated when a student enters a JSEP school. An ILP documents needs, goals, and challenges to be met to reach educational and career goals. The ILP details courses, preparations, and activities needed for high school graduation, vocational training, or college coursework and is updated every 30 calendar days to reflect ongoing needs and progress. The ILP’s development is based on student input and is shared with families and the local school district. The document is also used for students’ transition back to a community school.
Informal Supervision: See definition for “Pre-Court Supervision.”
Innovation Teams: A 2023 initiative to improve climate and culture of DJS facilities from within. Innovation Teams have a multi-layered organizational structure, including staff and youth from each facility. With guidance from youth, families, staff and external partners, teams analyze, inform, and influence policy, practice, and culture, and champion creativity throughout the change process.
Intake: The process for reviewing a complaint against a youth and determining whether the juvenile court has jurisdiction and whether judicial action is in the best interest of the public and/or the youth. During intake, youth and their family may be offered services. DJS has statutory authority to screen all juvenile complaints referred.
J - terms
Juvenile Court: A division of the Circuit Court in Maryland that hears cases for youth under age 18 accused of qualifying offenses or with a CINS petition.
Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI): A best practice model of the Annie E. Casey Foundation that addresses inappropriate and unnecessary use of detention and reduces the failures of juveniles to appear in court. A primary goal of JDAI is to reduce overcrowding in detention centers by safely maintaining youth in the community in detention alternatives without jeopardizing public safety or increasing the number of youth who fail to appear for court.
Juvenile Justice Monitoring Unit (JJMU): Administratively housed in the newly established independent agency, the Office of the Correctional Ombudsman, the unit investigates the needs of children under the jurisdiction of DJS and determines whether their needs are being met in compliance with State law. This includes evaluating the conditions of youth housing, reporting on treatment of and services to youth, and investigating allegations of child abuse. JJMU was formerly housed under the Office of the Attorney General.
Juvenile Services Education Program (JSEP): Operated by DJS since July 1, 2022, JSEP provides educational services to detained and committed youth in DJS facilities across the state. An appointed board that includes the secretaries of DJS and the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) sets policy for JSEP. Prior to July 1, 2022, JSEP was a part of MSDE
M - terms
Maryland College and Career Ready Standards (MCCRS): Standards that cover English language arts, mathematics, and literacy in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects. The standards define what students should know and be able to do at each grade level and also align with state standards and assessments.
Maryland Comprehensive Assessment and Service Planning (MCASP): The DJS process that uses integrated case management to assess risks and needs of youth throughout their DJS involvement and develop interventions to accomplish the goals of public safety and youth rehabilitation. MCASP enables DJS to strengthen individualized service plans for youth and families and match them with appropriate services/programs, to track youth progress, and to ensure that each youth receives the level of supervision consistent with their risk to public safety.
Maryland Evaluation and Treatment Services (METS): A web-based platform that provides key case management functions, including assessments, contacts, and treatment service planning in coordination with the DJS ASSIST system.
Maryland Longitudinal Data System (MLDS): A research data center established by State law in 2010 to allow research and policy evaluation using matched, de-identified data from the State education, workforce, and (as of October 2019) DJS data systems.
Maryland Police and Correctional Training Commissions (MPCTC): Under DPSCS, MPCTC is vested with the authority to set standards of initial selection and training for all governmental law enforcement, correctional, parole and probation, and juvenile services employees in the State of Maryland, and to otherwise upgrade the professionalism of these officers. MPCTC provides certification and ongoing training to DJS staff.
Misdemeanor: See definition for “felony versus misdemeanor.”
Multidisciplinary Assessment Staffing Team (MAST): A specialized regional diagnostic team responsible for assessing and evaluating youth who are detained and at risk of out-of-home placement prior to disposition. Following an in-depth review, the MAST prepares security and treatment recommendations to the juvenile court. The MAST includes psychologists, social workers, community and facility case managers and supervisors, resource specialists, MSDE representatives, and individuals from other disciplines as needed.
Multisystemic Therapy (MST - an EBS): An intensive family- and community-based treatment program that addresses the serious anti-social behavior of juvenile offenders. The major goal of MST is to empower parents and youth with the skills and resources needed to independently resolve the difficulties that arise in coping with family, peer, school, and neighborhood problems. Intervention strategies include family therapy, structural family therapy, behavioral parent training, and cognitive behavior therapies. MST is a home-based model of service delivery.
P - terms
Pending Placement: A temporary status for youth who have been committed to an out-of-home residential treatment program and are awaiting placement, including youth removed from a committed placement. Youth may be “pending placement” in a variety of settings including: detention facility, home, home with additional services, home under community detention and/or electronic monitoring, family shelter care, structured shelter care, acute care hospitals, or psychiatric respite care programs.
Pending Placement Unit (PPU): A specialized residential unit that offers a treatment-like setting for youth who have been adjudicated and are awaiting placement in a treatment program. Pending Placement Units offer dedicated staff, distinctive uniforms, and more comfortable furnishings; however, the hallmark of Pending Placement Unit is treatment opportunities including individualized and group skills DBT sessions. Treatment progress in the Pending Placement Unit is considered part of a committed youth’s treatment stay.
Petition: A formal written request filed by the State’s Attorney’s Office with the juvenile court alleging that a child is delinquent, in need of supervision (CINS) or in need of assistance (CINA).
Placement versus Admission: A placement is based on a decision made by an intake officer or judge to place a youth into detention or a treatment program. An admission occurs when a youth physically enters a facility either through direct placement or through transfer. Thus, during one placement, a youth may have several admissions.
Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS): An implementation framework for maximizing the selection and use of evidence-based prevention and intervention practices along a multi-tiered continuum that supports the academic, social, emotional, and behavioral competence of youth in DJS facilities. PBIS principles guide the provision of medical, behavioral health, education, and recreation services, as well as Trauma Informed Care (TIC) and the Department’s behavior motivation program, STARR. Facility teams use data on youth behavior to evaluate the effectiveness of facility operations, and youth behaviors and progress.
Positive Youth Development (PYD): The intentional engagement of young people in environments, experiences, and relationships that facilitate positive developmental outcomes. PYD in practice is an approach to working with young people that defines goals (outcomes) based on capacities, strengths and developmental needs of young people. Young people are provided opportunities with corresponding supports and services which result in positive developmental outcomes. The PYD approach is in contrast with models that focus on youth’s needs and problems but ignore their inherent strengths and drive toward growth.
Post-Secondary Education Enrollment: The students enrolled at JSEP schools have the opportunity to enroll in college-level courses online through Frederick Community College, Anne Arundel Community College, and Baltimore City Community College. Students at Backbone enroll and attend classes at Garrett Community College.
PowerSchool: The JSEP student information system (SIS) that provides real-time analytics based on student performance; creates report cards, transcripts, and progress reports; and performs progress monitoring for grade books, student attendance, and state standardized exams.
Pre-Adjudication Coordination and Training (PACT): An alternative to detention program in Baltimore City that serves youth ages 14 to 17. PACT utilizes a youth development model and collaborates with participants, their families, DJS, and other partners to develop a plan to address the underlying issues that lead to anti-social or delinquent behavior.
Pre-Court Supervision: An agreement consented to by the youth and parent/guardian diverting the case from formal court proceedings. The term is up to 90 days and may be extended to 180 days for substance abuse and mental health treatment needs by DJS or as otherwise ordered by the court. Failure to comply with the supervision agreement may result in a formal petition being filed.
Probation: Court-ordered supervision of youth in the community requiring youth to meet court-ordered conditions (general and case specific), including, for example, school attendance, employment, community service, restitution, counseling, or participation in substance abuse treatment.
Q - terms
Qualified Residential Treatment Program (QRTP): A residential program that has a trauma-informed treatment model that does the following: a) addresses the needs, including clinical needs as appropriate, of youth with serious emotional or behavioral disorders or disturbances; b) implements the treatment identified for youth within the required 30 calendar day assessment of placement appropriateness; c) has registered or licensed nursing staff and other licensed clinical staff available on-site 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; and d) is accredited by any of the independent, not-for-profit organizations approved by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
R - terms
Racial and Ethnic Disparities (RED): A term referring to the systemic and structural differences in how the legal system interacts with young people of various racial and ethnic backgrounds. More specifically, RED highlights the overrepresentation of youth of color within the system, their harsher, more punitive treatment compared to similarly situated white youth, and the unnecessary entry and deeper movement into the justice system for youth of color.
Racial Equity: The reality in which a person is no more or less likely to experience society’s benefits or burdens due to their race or ethnicity. Work to achieve racial equity meaningfully involves persons most impacted by structural racial inequities in the creation and implementation of institutional policies and practices that impact their lives.
Recidivism: Subsequent juvenile/adult delinquent or criminal involvement of youth released from treatment programs or youth placed on probation.
Relative Rate Index (RRI): A standardized measure used to assess racial disparity at each decision point within the justice system process (e.g., detention, court referral). It achieves this by comparing the rate at which youth of color encounter a particular decision point with the rate for white youth at that same point. For instance, the RRI quantifies the gap between the pre-d detention rate for white youth and the pre-d detention rate for youth of a specific racial or ethnic group (See Appendix E). This measure is also commonly referred to as the “disparity gap.” (W. Haywood Burns Institute, https://usdata.burnsinstitute.org/about/measurements)
Re-entry: A broad term used to refer to the transition from out-of-home committed placement to community supervision. Generally, re-entry involves a plan to ensure youth are connected to school, employment, and continued treatment services when returning to the community.
Removal from Committed Placement: A youth’s removal from an out-of-home placement upon determination that the youth failed to comply with the rules and conditions of the program. Following a removal, a youth may require a new out-of-home placement. A youth may remain in detention pending a new placement.
Resident Advisor: A DJS staff member who provides supervision, support, care, and monitoring of youth placed in DJS-operated facilities.
Residential Treatment Center (RTC): A mental health facility that serves children and adolescents with serious long-term emotional, behavioral, and psychological problems. RTCs provide intensive services and should be considered only when services in the community are insufficient to address a youth’s needs. In addition to Maryland RTCs, DJS uses a variety of out-of-state providers, including RTCs funded through Medical Assistance. Treatment models vary by program focus, but all RTCs provide individualized treatment plans and structured, comprehensive services that are treatment-oriented and behaviorally focused.
Residential Treatment Service Plan (RTSP): A structured treatment planning tool to guide treatment services for youth placed in DJS-operated treatment programs.
Resolved at Intake: A determination by the DJS Intake officer that furthering a case by informal pre-court supervision or by forwarding it to the State’s Attorney’s Office for formal processing would be disadvantageous to the interests of the youth and to public safety.
Restorative Justice: An approach that seeks to repair the harm caused by criminal behavior by involving the community in rehabilitating offenders and holding them accountable for their behavior. It includes victim-offender mediation, conferencing, dialogue circles, victim assistance, restitution, and community service.
RISE (Respect, Inspire Positivity, Seek Success, Engage): A structured behavior motivation system used in DJS detention facilities that provides support to youth and staff, improves facility culture, and assists youth in achieving social, behavioral, and academic goals. RISE teaches youth the importance of respect for self, others, and environment while providing opportunities for youth to be leaders.
S - terms
SafeMeasures: An analytic service provided by Evident Change that provides timely management reports and indicators to DJS case management, supervisory, and executive staff. SafeMeasures pulls data from existing DJS databases and creates visual indicators and reports to ensure that the agency’s requirements for effective facility operations, case management, and supervision are tracked and met.
Safer Stronger Together (SST): A collaborative initiative among DJS, the Maryland Department of Human Services (DHS), and the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS). SST was piloted in three sites - Hagerstown, Salisbury and East Baltimore - in its first year. In 2025, SST expanded to Capitol Heights and District Heights in Prince George’s County. In each site, all three agencies are working together to serve youth and young adults and their families who touch at least two of these three governmental systems. Additionally, community residents making up a Community Action Board in each site direct resources to grassroots organizations serving the youth and young adults aged 13-25 in their neighborhoods.
Safety Planning Initiative (SPI): An intense supervision initiative for youth in DJS care who are witnesses to, or victims of violent acts, or otherwise at risk of violence.
Seven Challenges: An evidence-based program for youth with substance use issues that combines process groups and journaling. Seven Challenges focuses on helping youth make thoughtful decisions about their substance use and lives, and commit to change, as well as supporting youth in their changes.
Shelter Care: Temporary, short-term (1-30 days), non-secure housing of youth who are awaiting court disposition. Shelter beds serve as an alternative to detention where family or other housing is not available.
Social History Investigation (SHI): The written study of a youth and their family that is presented to the juvenile court. The SHI emphasizes social and legal histories as well as the following domain areas: family functioning, substance abuse, mental health, somatic health, education, employment, and life skills.
Social Skills Training and Aggression Replacement Techniques (START): Based on Aggression Replacement Training (ART), which is an evidence-based, cognitive behavioral group intervention for committed youth with chronic aggression, START focuses on developing youth’s social skills, anger control, and moral reasoning.
Staff Secure: A term describing a residential program where youth movement is controlled through staff supervision rather than by restrictive architectural features.
STARR Program: A behavior motivation program used in DJS treatment facilities that incorporates PBIS principles. STARR utilizes evidence-based principles of positive instruction, reinforcement, and modeling, and is designed to encourage and develop pro-social Behavior.
State Advisory Board: A Board that recommends policies and programs to the Secretary of Juvenile Services to improve State juvenile services. The Board helps plan development and use of resources, and helps inform the public of the Department’s work. By law, it includes at least one youth member who was under the Department’s jurisdiction as well as a parent or guardian of a youth who was under the Department’s supervision. The 21 Board members are appointed by the Governor for 3-year terms.
T - terms
Thrive Academy: The DJS Gun Violence Reduction Strategy that serves probation and aftercare youth identified to be at the highest risk of gun violence as either a victim or a perpetrator. Youth and families participate voluntarily; thus, the intervention is not court-ordered, and the program involves an intensive case management model using “credible messengers.”
Transfer/Reverse Waiver Hearing: A hearing in which a court with criminal jurisdiction over a case excluded by statute from juvenile jurisdiction waives it and transfers the child to juvenile court (see Appendix I.) This is permitted if it is “in the interests of the child or society.” The court may not transfer a case of any child who (1) has previously been convicted of an excluded offense; (2) has previously been waived/transferred to juvenile court and adjudicated delinquent; or (3) is accused of first degree murder and was at least 16 at the time of commission. The law specifies various factors that must be considered in making a reverse waiver determination.
Trauma, Addictions, Mental Health, and Recovery for Youth (TAMAR-Y): A structured trauma education group that teaches youth to identify stress and trauma triggers. Youth also learn skills such as deep breathing and mindfulness techniques to address their reactions to stress and trauma triggers. TAMAR-Y uses a multimedia approach that includes videos to stimulate discussion, and it incorporates expressive arts therapies that involve writing and drawing activities to engage youth and help them develop a better understanding of their experiences. Some of the topics covered in groups include: Understanding Trauma’s Impact, Dealing with Triggers, Trauma and Addiction - How We Cope, Keeping It Together - Containment, Who I Am, and Connections.
Trauma Informed Care (TIC): A service delivery approach that takes into account past trauma and the resulting coping mechanisms when attempting to understand behaviors and provide services. Trauma informed care is a framework or a lens used to recognize the prevalence of early adversity in the lives of youth, view presenting problems as symptoms of maladaptive coping, and understand how early trauma shapes a youth’s fundamental beliefs about the world and affects their behavior. In trauma informed counseling, clinicians apply the principles of trauma informed care by identifying youth’s strengths and positive coping strategies in order to assist the youth in managing stress.
Trauma Specific Treatment (TST): Treatment services that address traumatic stress as well as any co-occurring disorders (including substance use and mental disorders) that developed during or after trauma. Trauma Specific Treatments directly address trauma-related symptoms and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) is an example of a trauma specific treatment.
Treatment Service Plan (TSP): A document identifying treatment objectives and services that address the specific needs of the youth and family. It is guided by the MCASP Risk & Needs Assessment (See Appendix P) for adjudicated youth, and completed by DJS case management staff when a youth is placed on probation or into a committed treatment program. It also serves to guide re-entry planning and guides aftercare service linkage and delivery.
U - terms
Ungovernable: Being beyond the control of parents, guardians, or custodians or being disobedient of parental authority. This designation is one of several that can be filed with DJS as a CINS referral.
V - terms
Violation of Probation (VOP): A hearing conducted by the court to determine if the conditions of community supervision have been violated. A VOP is considered a technical violation if it does not involve a new delinquent offense.
Y - terms
Youth Charged as an Adult: Juveniles can be charged as adults in certain sets of circumstances. If a child is 14 or older and commits a crime punishable by life imprisonment, then the adult court has original jurisdiction. For youth aged 16 or 17, an adult charge is also possible for certain other offenses. (See Appendix I).
Youth Opportunities to Learn Occupations (YOLO): A paid opportunity for young people in DJS residential facilities to work for other state agencies off-grounds.