Ch. 431                                    2004 LAWS OF MARYLAND

(b) The Facilities Master Plan required under this Section shall implement the
ideal service delivery system identified to serve the anticipated population. That plan
shall address identified gaps in service delivery and specific facility needs, including
both renovation and new construction.

SECTION 3. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That it is the intent of the
General Assembly that, to the extent practicable, children in the juvenile services
system be served by programming that meets the following principles:

(1)     the safety of the community and the children served is ensured,
delinquent children are held accountable to victims and communities, and children
develop competencies to assist them in becoming successful members of society;

(2)     services are delivered regionally through operational regions;

(3)     detention and committed facilities do not contain more than 48
children;

(4)     detention facilities are geographically, physically, and operationally
separate, remote, and distinct from committed facilities; and

(5)     children awaiting a committed placement after disposition are not
held in a facility with children awaiting court disposition.

SECTION 2. 3. 4. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the Department of
Juvenile Services, with the assistance and cooperation of the State Department of
Education and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene as indicated, shall
provide to the Governor and, in accordance with § 2-1246 of the State Government
Article, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Delegates, and to
the Chairmen of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, House Appropriations
Committee, Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, and the House Judiciary
Committee of the General Assembly, by on or before December 31, 2004, the following:

(1) A 10-year Master Facility Plan for all locked and staff secure
detention and commitment facilities operated or contracted for by the Department.
The Master Facility Plan shall be a comprehensive analysis of the risks and needs of
youth referred to the Department and shall reflect a reduced reliance on large locked
institutions by planning for smaller, secure facilities near youths' homes and placing
appropriate youth in community-based settings or at home under adequate
supervision;

(2)     (1) A comprehensive Reform Plan for the development of feasibility
study of the maximum utilization of community-based services that will effectively
serve as alternatives to secure detention and institutional placements for at least
two thirds of the youths in the juvenile justice system who have historically been
placed in secure detention and committed to institutions and the development of
family-centered aftercare case plans for addressing delinquent and at-risk behavior,
including outcome-based evaluations and management of those case plans;

(3)     (2) A joint recommendation with the State Department of
Education on how the State will provide an equal and adequate education to all youth

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