Key Takeaways:

Maryland commission recommends ending automatic adult charges for children in certain cases.

The commission argues the current system fails to improve public safety.

Children charged as adults often miss school, rehabilitative programs and community support, a report states.

Ending auto-charging could save $17 million annually, according to an agency estimate.

Maryland’s juvenile justice commission last month recommended ending the state’s practice of automatically charging children as adults in certain cases.

The Maryland Commission on Juvenile Justice Reform & Emerging & Best Practices last month approved recommendations that all children’s cases begin in the juvenile justice system, with judges given the discretion to waive certain cases up to criminal court.

The c

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