The lost boys
by Lori Barrett | April 23, 2008 at 7:09 am
Posted in baltimore crime
An investigation by the state Department of Juvenile Services reveals that more than 100 juvenile offenders in Baltimore are lost in the system.
Some case files are marked “MIA” because the juveniles can’t be located. Other files are marked “cannot be identified” because the caseworker is not sure who they should be supervising. The investigation was sparked by incidents in which several teenagers on supervised probation were arrested or even murdered without anyone noticing.
Many of the staff are overworked, with 129 caseworkers assigned to about 2000 juveniles. However, some caseworkers are responsible for a disproportionate 50 to 60+ cases each. Employees also cite lack of training and supervision as contributing problems.
One caseworker was responsible for a dozen juveniles with “urgent” problems — including one identified as a probable repeat sex offender — in addition to 52 normal-priority kids. The employee had no contact with any of those 12 priority cases. Another teenager was arrested three times during his probation without his caseworker taking any action. He was murdered last fall.
One can only hope that this investigation leads to an overhaul of the system — getting these kids off the street and back under a watchful eye, where they need to be.
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April 23rd, 2008 at 1:47 pm | Please log in to reply. | Log in to rate this comment | report this comment
The social service system as a whole is broken. And it's stuck in a vicious mobius curve of dysfunction. They can't attact quality caseworkers because of the mediocre pay and heavy caseloads...and the few that do accept the job only last a few months before they realize that it's a sinking ship.
The tail is essentially wagging the dog - documentation has become incredibly cumbersome due to the failure of most caseworkers to provide adeqete services to their clients. The result is less time to accually work with the client - or even bother to check in on them at all. Thats the crazy part. The paperwork involved could provide a worker with a full 40 hour work week, without ever seeing the client. The workers almost have pick and choose - do I want to see the client, or do I want to keep my paperwork compliant? Most of the time, you can't do both.
Truth be told - there are MANY caseworkers at DJS that really shouldn't be anywhere near a support services agency - but that isn't the whole story. The system is broken at all levels - administrative as well as direct services.
!
April 23rd, 2008 at 2:42 pm | Please log in to reply. | Log in to rate this comment | report this comment
Baltimore is so f---ed up.
Even the people we have put into jobs to watch over young people who commit crimes can't do their jobs.