(BALTIMORE, MD—November 10, 2003) After residing in the Clarence M. Mitchell Circuit Courthouse for Baltimore City for nearly 100 years, the juvenile court will relocate to a new state-of-the-art facility known as the Baltimore City Juvenile Justice Center on November 12, 2003. The Juvenile Justice Center, located at 300 N. Gay Street, is a multi-purpose facility designed to provide court and court-related services for children and their families who have cases involving juvenile delinquency, abuse and neglect, and adoptions.

“The Juvenile Justice Center will place all juvenile-related matters in Baltimore City under one roof,” said Marcella A. Holland, Administrative Judge for Baltimore City Circuit Court. “It will also house a number of quality programs and services that assist juveniles and their families.”

The Juvenile Justice Center will accommodate courtrooms and chambers for three judges and nine masters, the Juvenile Court’s Clerk’s Office, the Juvenile Division of the Office of the Public Defender, the Juvenile Division of the State’s Attorney’s Office, and various ancillary offices associated with juvenile court. In addition, the Baltimore City Police Department’s Central Juvenile Arrest and Booking Center, and eventually the Baltimore City Department of Social Services After-Hours Intake Office and the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services’ Intake and Probationary Offices for Baltimore City will reside here. A pre-adjudication detention center will also be located within the facility. The co-location of a 144-bed detention center will eliminate the safety problems that accompanied the transportation of Baltimore City youth on passenger vans between the Cheltenham Youth Facility in southern Maryland and the Mitchell Courthouse.   

At the July 1999 ground breaking ceremony for the Juvenile Justice Center, the Baltimore City Juvenile Court pledged a number of reforms to improve its operation. A key component of those reforms was a critical examination of the court’s detention practices and the exploration of the connection between children who have been abused and neglected and later become involved in delinquent behavior. As a result, the Baltimore City Juvenile Court and its ancillary partners entered into a memorandum of understanding to address those issues as it relates to the Juvenile Justice Center. The juvenile court received a grant from the Annie E. Casey Foundation to work on detention reform and “best practices” in processing delinquency cases. The collaborative effort has resulted in the juvenile court becoming a Casey Foundation Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative (JDAI) replication site. Consequently, the court is committed to exploring alternative uses to secured detention.  

“Our goal is not to utilize all 144 detention beds at the Juvenile Justice Center,” said Martin P. Welch, Judge in Charge of the Baltimore City Juvenile Court. “Our efforts to date have demonstrated a reduction in secured detention without risking public safety. I hope that the public will begin to view Baltimore City’s Juvenile Court as a child friendly place.”

For more information, please contact the Court Information Office at 410/260-1488.