A Department of Juvenile Services employee has been placed on administrative leave, and all of the agency's caseworkers in Baltimore are being trained to conduct criminal background checks, officials announced yesterday. The moves come in response to the case of a teenage drug dealer who was sent home with his mother, who was on probation for a drug offense.
The teen, Farron Tates, was arrested last week on adult murder charges. In January, just before his 16th birthday, three of his juvenile drug distribution cases were resolved with a plea to one count, and he was put on probation and sent home with his mother, Bridgette Tates.
In juvenile hearings and records reviewed this week by The Sun, it appeared that the Department of Juvenile Services worker assigned to his case and the juvenile master who sentenced him were unaware of Bridgette Tates' November guilty plea to possession of crack cocaine.
"Too many children and young adults die on the streets of Baltimore City. This has to end. DJS staff will be held accountable for the reduction of this violence," Juvenile Services Secretary Donald DeVore said in a statement. "To date, one employee has been placed on administrative leave and any employees found responsible for failure to do their job will be terminated if merited by this investigation."
Tammy Brown, a DJS spokeswoman, said in an e-mail that once training is complete, the agency's caseworkers in the city will conduct background checks on the guardians of children in their care so that information can be presented in court.
Prior to the policy change on criminal records, caseworkers primarily relied upon interviews with parents to determine their criminal history.
Brown said department officials always review cases in which a juvenile offender goes on to be charged with murder or gets killed. Such a review in Farron's case began immediately after the boy's March 6 arrest and is continuing, she said.
Additionally, Brown said, because of Farron's case, officials are reviewing the files of all 2,000 or so Baltimore youths currently under DJS supervision to check for potential problems.
Linda Koban, a Baltimore juvenile master who left the bench three years ago after seven years of service, said that the DJS routinely fails to fully investigate cases. She said the information provided to masters who must decide the fate of young offenders is "faulty" and "lacking."
