Both attacks were so serious that the accused assailants were charged as adults - something that juvenile advocates say shows just how out of control the justice center has become.
"When a juvenile facility becomes a place where adult charges are generated, that is a full-scale indictment," said Stephen Bergman, supervising attorney in the state public defender's juvenile protection office. "There cannot be a bigger failure of the system than that."
DeVore says that justice center reform is a top priority. Late last year, he added 48 positions there, bringing its number of DJS workers to 233. Those employees have received new training in violence de-escalation. To keep the youths busy and out of trouble, DeVore launched mentoring and after-school programs, such as drumming and chess.
The secretary acknowledges, however, that the only real solution is to sharply decrease the justice center's population; his goal is a cap of 100 youths. He believes that will begin happening in the coming months as community detention alternatives become available, and even more so in the coming years as four planned new facilities are constructed.
Gov. Martin O'Malley, who brought DeVore to Maryland from Connecticut last year, said he was "never under any illusion that progress would be something to happen overnight."
But juvenile advocates say the youths and workers inside can't wait any longer. Some want the justice center's capacity slashed to 70 or lower - and right away.
"The justice center has never worked appropriately," Forster said. "It's a bleak place that breeds hopelessness."
An architectural assessment of the 95,000-square-foot detention area, commissioned last year by DeVore, indicates that it "is overcrowded in every department" and, according to national standards, should be 50 percent larger.
Students must receive about six hours of education per weekday, but there are just six classrooms, each of which can accommodate 12 students.
Hallways are barely wide enough for three people standing shoulder-to-shoulder. The cafeteria holds 24 youths. Outdoor recreation is limited to two diamond-shaped concrete courtyards.
DeVore has helped build about 10 juvenile facilities across the country. When he toured the justice center after becoming secretary last year, he said he was struck by its "nightmarish design."
