Schiraldi out at Department of Juvenile Services, Gov. Wes Moore says
A new acting secretary will take over Maryland's Department of Juvenile Services, replacing the embattled Vincent Schiraldi, Gov. Wes Moore said in a news release late Monday.
Betsy Fox Tolentino will assume the post beginning Wednesday, according to the release from the governor's office. Schiraldi had served as secretary of the department since 2023.
'We knew when we took office that the Department of Juveniles Services was one of the most troubled in all of State government. We need to continue to move fast and diligently in order to turn it around,' Moore said in a statement Monday.
Tolentino comes to the government from the nonprofit The Roca Impact Institute, where she worked as the managing director of juvenile and young adult justice initiatives. She previously served the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services' Deputy Secretary of Community Operations, the statement said.
'I am thankful for Secretary Schiraldi's service to Maryland while leading an organization that shapes the lives of our young people who need support. I wish him well in his next endeavors,' said Senate President Bill Ferguson in the release from the governor's office.
Schiraldi, chosen by Moore to helm an understaffed and financially mismanaged agency as firearm possession and car theft charges among Maryland youth increased, was heralded by many juvenile justice advocates as an expert in his field and an exciting pick to head the department responsible for tamping down youth crime.
But his rehabilitative philosophy rattled Republican lawmakers, law enforcement, state prosecutors and members of the public who believe the state's juvenile justice system lacks oversight and accountability for children who commit crimes.
Before coming to Maryland, Schiraldi founded the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice in San Francisco and the Washington-based Justice Policy Institute, which focuses on reducing the use of incarceration in the U.S. He then served as director of the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services in Washington, D.C., for five years before taking a post in New York City.
'Vinny Schiraldi brought decades of experience and innovative thinking to the task of running the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services,' Moore said in the statement.
Schiraldi contended that he inherited a department riddled with problems when he was appointed secretary by Moore at the beginning of his term. According to Schiraldi, programs and services for kids in need atrophied under the previous administration after the agency returned nearly $10 million of its annual budget for the better part of a decade.
When lawmakers expressed dismay that reform wasn't happening quickly enough, Schiraldi pleaded for patience.
'This is an oil tanker, not a speed boat,' Schiraldi said of the Department of Juvenile Services.
Maryland's senate Republicans applauded the shake-up Monday, saying Schiraldi's outsting was 'long overdue.'
'He presided over widespread failures: violent juveniles released with no real supervision, repeated contract mismanagement, dangerous missteps in ankle monitoring, and frontline staff left to fend for themselves,' said Senate Minority Leader Steve Hershey in a statement.
'But just as damaging was his refusal to work with anyone. Law enforcement, state's attorneys, local leaders, legislators all lost confidence in his leadership.'
Have a news tip? Contact Racquel Bazos at rbazos@baltsun.com, 443-813-0770 or on X as @rzbworks.
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