A Forster Care Scandal in Maryland

Last week the Office of Legislative Affairs for Maryland’s General Assembly released a 70 page report which documented a real scandal taking place within the state’s foster care system. There are over 13,000 children in this system but in Maryland it was so poorly run that some of the kids were being placed in homes with convicted sex offenders.

Auditors found seven people on the Maryland Sex Offender Registry whose listed addresses were the same as approved “guardianship homes” where a total of 10 children were living…

In one case, an individual convicted of sexual misconduct with a minor had the same address as a home where four children between the ages of 4 and 8 were living, according to the report.

And in another case, auditors found an employee of a group foster home who was on the Maryland Sex Offender Registry after being convicted years ago of sexually abusing a child. The employee “allegedly transported three foster care children for an inappropriate activity” and an investigation determined “there was evidence of abuse.”

This seems like the most basic and obvious check a foster care system should be running but in Maryland it apparently wasn’t happening. Even in cases where a home was checked once, there was no follow up later to see if any new adults had moved into the homes.

The system was also supposed to do follow-up medical checks on children but fell behind in hundreds of cases.

State regulations require foster children to have a health assessment within 60 days of entering the system, and annual medical exams and dental exams every six months after that.

As of May 2024, 540 children had not received a medical exam in the prior year, and 110 of them hadn’t had a medical exam in multiple years.

And 1,635 children hadn’t had a dental exam in the prior six months, including 140 who had never had a dental exam.

Hundreds of children were being placed in hotels rather than in homes. The cost for caring for those kids was exorbitant and the staff working with those kids were also not being given background checks. 

Under the supervision of the unlicensed vendors, the agency placed 280 foster children in hotels, some for as long as two years.

According to the report, those placements increased the level of risk the children faced and cost the state dramatically more than traditional foster care.

Daily costs for one child are said to have reached $1,259, compared to $281 for a treatment foster…

These vendors were tasked with daily supervision, transportation and medical assistance.

One vendor employed an individual convicted of murder in 1990, raising additional concerns about oversight.

That wasn’t the only case of financial failures associated with the system.

Beyond safety, the audit pointed to chronic management problems. The agency reportedly failed to implement a comprehensive quality assurance program across Maryland’s 24 local social service departments and struggled with its case management system (CJAMS), which didn’t flag inaccurate or missing data.

Financial failures cost the state millions. SSA reportedly didn’t look into or recover $34.5 million in overpayments and was fined nearly $700,000 for falling short of federal foster care standards. From federal funding, SSA lost out on at least $2.6 million in federal reimbursements because the audit says the agency didn’t apply for them, and potentially further lost out on up to $23 million because eligibility determinations weren’t done correctly or on time.

As I said, it’s a genuine scandal. The state assembly has called for hearings into the matter. Department of Human Services Secretary Rafael López, who is in charge of the program, is facing DUI charges after he was seen running a red light in January and swerving across the road.

Here’s a local news story on the foster care report.

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