ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland's Department of Juvenile Services is closing two of its facilities.
On Friday it was announced the J. DeWeese Carter Youth Facility in Chestertown and the Meadow Mountain Youth Center in Grantsville will shutdown as of June 30.
Staff at those locations will be reassigned to other facilities, according to the department.
Carter Youth Facility is an all-girl, hardware-secure committed program, which will become a staff-secure program on the campus of the Backbone Mountain Youth Center in Swanton.
The residents there will have their own dedicated building, staff, and programming at the new facility. They will also have access to behavioral health and education through a local community college, along with outdoor extra-curricular activities. Residents will share the dining hall and other amenities on the campus.
Currently, Carter depends on outside contractors for food service. Most recently, the girls were re-located to the Lower Eastern Shore Children’s Center, because food service was suspended by the vendor. Three residents are currently at Carter.
Meadow Mountain Youth Center, is an all-boys, staff-secure committed program. They will move to the neighboring Green Ridge and Backbone Mountain Youth Centers. Seven boys are currently in the Meadow Mountain program.
“The Department’s population has been decreasing for many years,” said DJS Secretary Sam Abed. “Consolidating our resources now allows us to maintain the necessary services to treat our youth, and better aligns with our population trends.”
Residents are being given Increased communication with their families until in-person visitation resumes, at which point DJS says they will provide transportation to families, if needed.
