By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews
Maryland lawmakers say they’re frustrated.
They should be.
But what unfolded in Annapolis on February 12 — a joint House Judiciary and Appropriations briefing grilling the Department of Human Services (DHS) over foster care failures — was not the beginning of this crisis.
It was the continuation of it.
And the most troubling part wasn’t just what the 2025 audit revealed.
It was the fact that DHS Secretary Rafael Lopez didn’t even show up to answer for it.
A Pattern Years in the Making
The fall 2025 legislative audit was damning. It found:
- Background checks improperly verified or undocumented
- Failures to screen individuals with criminal histories
- Lapses in contractor oversight
- Gaps in corrective action tracking
- Weak documentation of child safety safeguards
One highlighted case was particularly chilling: the audit found that SSA was unaware of seven registered sex offenders living at an address approved as a guardianship home housing 10 children as of August 2024. The home had not identified one individual charged with sexual abuse of a minor.
In another instance, the state claimed it reviewed a foster home in 2023 but failed to flag that it was employing a man convicted of sexual assault on a minor in 2014. Months later, that same individual allegedly transported foster children for inappropriate activity and was subsequently charged with crimes involving children under his care.
Even more disturbing: auditors found DHS “could not document any corrective action” to ensure proper background checks were being conducted.
That is not a one-off mistake. That is systemic breakdown.
The Hotel Era — and Kanaiyah Ward
The state’s use of hotels for foster placements became a national embarrassment.
Children with serious mental health needs were placed in hotels because Maryland lacked sufficient therapeutic foster homes and residential beds. Some remained for weeks or months.
Then came the July 2025 death of 16-year-old Kanaiyah Ward, who died by suicide while placed in a Baltimore hotel under one-to-one supervision from a contracted provider. The supervisor was reportedly on an extended shift.
Only after her death did DHS:
- Remove all youth from hotel placements
- End contracts with certain one-to-one providers
- Announce internal reviews
Lawmakers rightly asked: why did it take a death to trigger action?
The Hospital Overstay Crisis
As hotels were phased out, a new crisis emerged: hospital overstays.
By January 2026, at least 144 foster children had remained in hospitals for extended periods after medical clearance because DHS could not find placements.
Doctors cleared them.
Caseworkers couldn’t place them.
Children waited.
As of mid-February, DHS reports seven children remain in hospital overstays. That number is lower than before — but the structural shortage of placements remains unresolved.
This is not a surprise problem. Lawmakers have been warned for years about capacity shortages, contractor failures, and staffing gaps.
Secretary Lopez’s Absence
During the February 12 hearing, lawmakers voiced visible frustration — not only over the audit’s findings but over the absence of DHS Secretary Rafael Lopez.
His chief of staff and SSA leadership appeared in his place. Lopez cited illness.
But optics matter.
When a department faces a scathing audit involving foster children, background check failures, and a child’s death, the public expects the top official to be present — especially when he appeared at another legislative event the day before.
Several delegates referenced a “lack of urgency.”
That perception is damaging.
When foster children are harmed under state custody, urgency should not need to be requested.
This Is Bigger Than One Secretary
To be clear: this crisis spans administrations.
Maryland’s foster care system has faced repeated scrutiny over:
- Overreliance on emergency placements
- Weak contractor monitoring
- Inadequate background screening verification
- Failure to expand licensed therapeutic capacity
- Delayed implementation of audit recommendations
But leadership accountability matters. When audits repeat findings and corrective actions remain undocumented, someone must own the failure.
Right now, responsibility appears diffuse — absorbed into bureaucratic language and procedural briefings.
The Racial Disproportionality Factor
Advocates have also highlighted racial disparities. African American children are represented in foster care at rates significantly higher than their share of the general population.
That disparity raises additional questions:
- Are services reaching families early enough?
- Are removals happening equitably?
- Is oversight consistent across jurisdictions?
Reform must address not only safety failures but structural inequities.
Follow the Money
Maryland approved a $465 million foster care contract. The system oversees roughly 3,775 children in out-of-home placements.
The fiscal 2026 budget is withholding $500,000 from SSA until detailed reform plans are submitted.
Taxpayers are funding a system that auditors describe as failing to document whether background checks were properly conducted.
This is not merely tragic.
It is operationally indefensible.
What Real Reform Requires
If Annapolis wants to move beyond hearings and headlines, reform must include:
- Independent child safety oversight outside DHS
- Real-time public placement data dashboards
- Automatic contract termination triggers for compliance failures
- Mandatory audit implementation deadlines
- Expansion of licensed therapeutic foster capacity
- A statutory ban on hotel placements without emergency loopholes
And yes — visible leadership accountability.
The Bottom Line
When the state removes a child from their home, it assumes parental authority.
That authority carries moral weight.
Repeated audits without structural change signal something deeper than mismanagement. They signal a system that has grown comfortable with crisis response instead of prevention.
Lawmakers say they are frustrated.
Maryland’s foster children don’t have the luxury of frustration.
They have to live with the consequences.
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