DOJ audit finds Maryland public defender spent $622,883 grant with little impact on youth

A federal watchdog’s inspector general report concluded that Maryland’s Office of the Public Defender squandered the full $622,883 grant from the Department of Justice, which was intended to provide mental-health and legal support to justice-involved youth. The office never identified an approved mental-health agency and could only verify service to fewer than ten children, despite an original expectation of 150 annual clients that was later reduced to 30.

Auditors cited “fewer court referrals,” COVID-19 impacts, and rural access issues as explanations, while the public defender’s office, led by Natasha Dartigue, argued that administrative gaps did not prevent assistance to 48 youths. Dartigue also pointed to prior monitoring by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, which had deemed the program satisfactory. The controversy comes as state officials, including Governor Wes Moore, push reforms such as the Youth Charging Reform Act to lower juvenile incarceration rates, though the public defender office says more changes are needed.