The Maryland Senate has voted unanimously in favor of a transparency bill aimed at the Department of Juvenile Services (DJS). The bill, backed by Sen. Cory McCray (D-Baltimore City), calls for DJS to produce an annual report detailing how the agency handles youth under its supervision who are involved in violent crimes.

The legislation, which received approval from the Judicial Proceedings Committee on Tuesday without opposition, seeks to shed light on concerns such as how often juveniles under DJS supervision are involved in shootings and the agency’s after-action response plan.

Sen. McCray explained that in the past, whenever juveniles were shot or involved in a shooting in his district, he would meet with the former DJS secretary to learn about the incident and the agency’s outreach to the young people involved. However, he has been unable to do so since DJS Secretary Vincent Schiraldi took over in the summer of 2023.

“Since introducing the legislation, Sen. McCray said the relationship with Secretary Schiraldi changed, and they have been ‘probably touching base once every two weeks at this point,’” the article states.

The bill now needs to be approved by the House of Representatives before becoming law.

If passed, the legislation would require DJS to produce the report annually by December 1, not only to the General Assembly but also to the juvenile crime commission. The report would provide transparency into the agency’s handling of violent incidents involving youth under its supervision and its subsequent actions.

The unanimous Senate vote indicates a strong bipartisan support for increased transparency and accountability regarding the Department of Juvenile Services’ operations and its management of juvenile offenders involved in violent crimes.