Maryland Approves $1.2B Foster Care Reform After Teen’s Death
Maryland Invests Over $1 Billion to Reform Foster Care System Following Hotel Tragedy
Maryland officials have approved more than $1 billion in new contracts aimed at expanding licensed care options for foster children, marking what state leaders are calling a major step toward reforming the child welfare system, CBS Baltimore reports.
The state’s spending board recently signed off on a funding package totaling more than $1.2 billion over the next five years. The investment is designed to increase the number of licensed private providers available to care for foster youth, ensuring that vulnerable children have safer and more stable living environments.
The move comes in response to the 2025 death of 16 year old Kanaiyah Ward, who died by suicide while being housed in a hotel near the Johns Hopkins Hospital campus. State investigators later found that the caretaker assigned to monitor her failed to conduct required hourly safety checks. Ward had been placed in the hotel after multiple foster care facilities declined to accept her.
Lawmakers and child welfare advocates say her death exposed serious gaps in oversight and resources within Maryland’s foster care system. An audit released shortly before her death revealed that some caregivers lacked criminal background checks and that certain children were not receiving basic educational and medical services.
In the months following the tragedy, Maryland officials ended the practice of housing foster children in hotels. Interim Department of Human Services Secretary Gloria Brown Burnett said new contracts will establish clearer standards for providers and help expand the state’s capacity to place children in licensed settings.
While progress has been made, challenges remain. Currently, eight foster children are still living in hospitals after being medically cleared for discharge, down from 20 in early 2025. Lawmakers say eliminating hospital overstays remains a top priority.
Delegate Mike Griffith, who spent part of his youth in foster care, is pushing legislation known as Kanaiyah’s Law. The proposal would strengthen oversight, restrict inappropriate placements and improve protections for children in state custody.
Maryland Invests Over $1 Billion to Reform Foster Care System Following Hotel Tragedy was originally published on 92q.com
