Prosecutors, lawmakers applaud Gov. Wes Moore’s DJS secretary replacement

Hannah Gaskill | The Baltimore Sun | June 10, 2025 | Original Source

After enduring more than two years of frustration with Secretary Vincent Schiraldi, state prosecutors and lawmakers are applauding Gov. Wes Moore’s decision to usher in Betsy Fox Tolentino as the acting head of the Department of Juvenile Services (DJS).

“I think it’s important that it be a person who knows the system here in Maryland, and certainly Ms. Tolentino knows that,” Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger, a Democrat, said Tuesday.

The Moore administration announced Monday evening that Schiraldi would be resigning from his role as the head of the DJS. In a Tuesday interview, Moore, a Democrat, said that he “ordered” Schiraldi’s resignation — despite the outgoing secretary saying that he had told the governor’s office “some time ago” that he wanted to leave his position over the coming months.

“I ordered Secretary Schiraldi’s resignation after several lengthy prior conversations, highlighting how I had a high bar and my patience was running low,” Moore said. “Our clear and consistent aim has been to balance accountability with rehabilitation. This change in leadership will help us achieve exactly that, while moving even faster toward our ambitious goals.”

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Schiraldi’s final day as DJS secretary is Tuesday. Tolentino, a veteran of the beleaguered agency, will take up the helm beginning Wednesday.

Regardless of her experience with DJS, Tolentino is walking into a tough public role.

“I think this is an agency that is challenging on a good day, and you’re dealing with juveniles that have significant problems and in some cases — not all — but in some cases, are committing really serious crimes,” House Judiciary Committee Chair Luke Clippinger, a Baltimore Democrat, said Tuesday. “How you can respond to those things quickly” comes with knowing “how the levers work … and that’s how Betsy will have an advantage compared to where Vinny was at the start of his time in the department.”

Over his two-and-a-half years as the head of DJS, Schiraldi faced harsh criticism from Maryland prosecutors, Republicans and members of the public for his rehabilitative philosophy, which did not show immediate results.

According to the DJS 2024 Data Resource Guide, complaints of crimes of violence committed by minors increased 58.4% from 2023 to 2024. Complaints against children have generally been on a steady decline over the past decade, reaching the lowest point at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. While they have spiked since, complaints have remained lower than pre-pandemic levels.

Shellenberger said that state’s attorneys across Maryland have been “concerned about juvenile crime and the department of juvenile services.”

“This isn’t about just one person,” he said. “It’s about an agency that needs to adjust its culture, and I don’t mean that all of a sudden all of these juveniles have to go to detention. What I’m talking about is getting people proper treatment.”

But Schiraldi also inherited an encumbered agency, which he often said is “oil tanker, not a speed boat” when addressing the ability to course correct.

Both Moore and Schiraldi have decried the state of DJS under Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican.

According to Moore, the agency returned roughly $130 million to the General Fund over Hogan’s eight years in office, and Schiraldi has said that DJS had “disinvested” in community programming under former Secretary Sam Abed.

Tolentino worked with Abed during his tenure as the head of the agency from 2011 to 2022. She left DJS as the deputy secretary of community operations.

Following her departure from DJS, Tolentino served as the managing director for juvenile and young adult initiatives at Roca, a violence intervention and behavioral health program in Baltimore.

Her buy-in with violence interruption programming aligns with Schiraldi, who launched the Thrive Academy, a specialized mentorship program for young people involved in gun violence.

With the Thrive Academy, Moore said that Schiraldi “brought truly innovative thinking to our work.” The program will continue after Schiraldi’s exit. It was codified under state law during the 2024 legislative session.

Regardless of the moves he made to implement community programming, Schiraldi had an often contentious relationship with state’s attorneys.

Specifically naming Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates and Howard County State’s Attorney Rich Gibson, Shellenberger said that top prosecutors across the state are “all on the same page” regarding the direction in which DJS needs to move.

“We want this system to work, but we feel like it wasn’t working and it needs to improve,” said Shellenberger.

Bates’ office declined to comment on Tolentino’s appointment. Gibson’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

“I think that it’s a good thing that we have somebody who will want to make some adjustments so that the system that is on paper can actually work,” Shellenberger said.

Moore said in a Tuesday morning interview on WBAL News Radio with TJ Smith that, while Tolentino was appointed as the “acting” secretary, he plans to submit her nomination before the Maryland Senate to make the leadership change permanent.

“Our administration has already received support from both Democrats and Republicans regarding our selection of Betsy Fox Tolentino to lead DJS,” said Moore. “And I look forward to moving in partnership with leaders on both sides of the aisle and all corners of society to get this right.”

Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee Vice Chair Jeff Waldstriecher, a Montgomery County Democrat, said that he trusts that Moore has selected a secretary who will balance public safety and rehabilitation, which are “two sides of the same coin.”

“I look forward to helping shepherd Ms. Tolentino’s nomination through Senate confirmation,” said Waldstreicher.