The Board of Public Works approved $465 million Wednesday to expand the number of beds available for placement of foster children, in what state officials called a “critical” step toward meeting youth care needs.
The Department of Human Services contracts — $279 million for three year period and another $186 million for a two-year renewal — would be split between 31 child placement agencies statewide and would fund a total of 2,013 placement beds, an increase of 4.8% from the current levels.
Expanding the number of beds prevents out-of-state placements and reduces the number of children forced into extended stays in hotels and hospitals when other space is not available, said Maryland Human Services Secretary Rafael López.
“Ideally, we don’t want them [youth] to get to the point where they have to remain in a hospital at all,” López told Maryland Matters after the board meeting. “And the expansion of beds is one of those solutions.”
The contracts will support both treatment foster care services (TFC), for youth with emotional, behavioral or psychological challenges, and independent living program (ILP) services, which help youth in foster care prepare for independent living. While the number of beds overall will grow from 1,920 to 2,013, the number of ILP beds will go from 290 to 335, a 15.5% increase.
This contract comes amid recent efforts by the Department of Human Services to “modernize the child welfare system,” said López, such as weekly staff meetings to review individual children’ s cases and the hiring of a hospital liaison who is in contact with hospitals caring for Department of Human Services youth.
“The contracts with these 31 providers really demonstrate, I think, a key first step in the state’s commitment to ensuring the best possible outcomes for our youth,” said Comptroller Brooke Lierman, one of three Board of Public Works members, with the governor and treasurer. “This is obviously just one of the legs of the stool of rebuilding our foster care system and our child placement system.
“Under this administration, what we have seen is a shift in priorities to make sure that we are taking care of the kids who have been left in a situation that they didn’t ask for and that is out of their control,” Lierman said.
López told the board that the department has been working to lower the number of hospital and hotel overstays since January 2023 — reducing the number of hospital overstays from 21 in February 2024 to 10 this month, and cutting the number of 54 to 11 in the same period.
The board agenda noted the number of youth in overstays was higher prior to January 2023, but there was no statewide tracking of youth overstays.
“While this is still 21 too many of our young people in Maryland, we are determined to get to zero for the first time in Maryland’s history,” Lopez said. “This work is not yet complete, but an important step in the right direction.”
Richard Barth, a distinguished professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, thinks the increase in beds and placement options is a “significant step forward.”
“Many youth who have been interviewed about their experience in care say they’re appreciative of the chance to be in care because they had no other good options, but that the services didn’t fit their needs very well,” Barth said Wednesday. “A greater supply of options for placements of children are likely to lead to a better match between what they actually need and what we’re providing them.”
Variations of placements, such as strengths in education or vocational issues, may appeal more to individuals, Barth said. He thinks there need to be more options for youth to enroll in residential schools and support for those looking to transition to higher education, as well as a larger effort to return youth to their homes.
“The quality of the independent living program that supports these youth who are in these placements is something that has been evolving for 30 years now — it needs to continue to evolve,” Barth said.