Youth and Work: Restoring Teen and Young Adult Connections to Opportunity
Approximately 93,000 or 14 percent of Maryland youth between the ages of 16-24 years old have dropped out of school and are jobless. Read more >>
2012 Post-Legislative Session Child Welfare Wrap Up
This year was a very successful Legislative Session for Advocates for Children and Youth. A number of bills passed which will improve life for children and families involved in the child welfare system.Read more >>
To read our testimony on all of the bills we supported during Maryland’s 2012 Legislative Session, click here.
Alternative Response in Maryland
Maryland’s Department of Human Resources is implementing Alternative Response. To learn more about what Alternative Response is, click here
ACY Signs on to the HELP Separated Children Act
ACY is supporting the HELP Separated Children Act which seeks to keep children safe and cared for while their parents are detained due to immigration raids.Read more >>
ACY attends White House Briefing on Children’s Issues
ACY attended a White House briefing organized by Voices for America’s Children and Kids Count. The briefing included welcoming remarks by Paul Monteiro, the Associate Director in the Office of Public Engagement and Bill Bentley, the President and CEO of Voices for America’s Children. All of the speakers emphasized President Obama’s commitment to children and sustaining funding for programs that support America’s most vulnerable children and families. Read more >>
ACY supports SB72 allowing minors to consent to medical care
ACY's testimony in support of SB 72, which broadens the professionals who can allow a minor to consent to medical treatment when delaying such treatment would adversely affect the minor's health
Melissa Rock’s written testimony for US Senate on IV E Funding
In the next several days, the Senate Finance Committee, in the U.S. Senate, is expected to vote on whether to reauthorize waivers to allow states to have flexibility in how they spend their Federal Title IV-E funds. Read our testimony here urging the Committee to reauthorize these waivers to allow these states to continue using their funding in innovative ways. Read more>>
2011 Legislative wrap up
This year was a very productive session in Annapolis for child welfare issues. For children who are in foster care, and whose parents are unavailable to sign the paperwork for them to apply for a driver’s license, HB 789 makes it possible for their social workers to sign those papers, so they are not barred from getting their licenses. HB 1208 will increase the pool of former foster children who are eligible to have their tuition waived at Maryland’s public higher education institutions by raising the age by which they need to enroll from 21 to 25. HB 255 will make it easier for local department of social services to find adult siblings of children in foster care who were adopted through the child welfare system.
We had a challenging time working on the language of the law creating new criminal penalties for child neglect, SB 178/HB 162. The law that was passed will apply to parents whose intentional acts create a substantial risk of harm to their children, and excludes parents whose neglect is only due to poverty or homelessness.Read more>>
Senator Max Baucus held a hearing on March 10, 2011 to examine reauthorizing IV E waivers to give states more flexibility in how to use their Federal IV E funding. The hearing included two former foster youths who testified about their experiences in the foster care system and how it could have been improved.Read more >>
Social Innovator David Bornstein weighs in on the foster care system in this New York Times opinion piece. He relates the story of a non-profit that took a hard look at its middling results and did something about it. Read more about the results and their use of Multisystemic Therapy (MST) that made a difference in thousands of kids’ lives and the systems that serve them.Read more >>
Preventing Children from Languishing in Foster Care
Maryland departments of social services must make "reasonable efforts" to preserve families and find permanent homes for abused or neglected children. To make more complete use of this important tool, courts can develop time efficient mechanisms by which departments can document reasonable efforts.Read more >>
Alliance Formed To Seek Increased Services for Families
Advocates for Children and Youth is working with a variety of groups interested in expanding substance abuse treatment, mental health services, housing assistance and other supports parents need to keep their children safely at home. The alliance is asking the State to reinvest savings from reduced numbers of children in foster care, rather than cut the child welfare budget.Read more>>
Voters Support More Services For Families To Keep Children
By wide margins, Maryland voters support expanding in-home services so that more children can remain safely in their own homes instead of being placed in foster care. Because of reductions in foster care placements, the State has funding available to pay for these in-home services.Read more >>
More Services, Judicial Scrutiny Can Increase Adoptions
According to a new report, to increase the number and timeliness of adoptions in Baltimore City, families need improved access to services, and courts can play a stronger role in ensuring that children are moved into a permanent placement, including adoption, as quickly as possible. Read more >>
Maryland Needs To Use Best Practices To Recruit Foster Parents for Teenagers
There are proven strategies for recruiting foster families willing to care for teenagers. However, Baltimore City and Prince George’s County are not using these strategies. Read more >>
Post Highlights Need for Reform in Prince George's
The Washington Post quoted numerous sources, including Advocates for Children and Youth, as affirming the need to improve the access of families to services after child maltreatment in Prince George's County. There are too few services, and caseworkers need to do more to help families use what is available. Read more >>
Better Services and Practice Needed in Prince George’s
Child advocates in Prince George’s County recommend significant improvements in child welfare services for families and practice by caseworkers, based on a new study by Advocates for Children and Youth. Read more >>
Governor's Budget Cuts Child Welfare Services, Despite Need
Services to safely preserve and reunify families after child abuse and neglect are cut in the Governor's proposed budget, despite savings from reduced foster care placements. A recent study by Advocates for Children and Youth found a lack of services for parents in Prince George's County.Read more >>
Prince George’s Families Need Additional Services To Reunify
Prince George’s County parents whose children were removed from their homes because of abuse or neglect received the full package of court-ordered reunification services in 26 percent of cases during the critical first six to eight months following removal. Advocates for Children and Youth used court records to do an unprecedented and extensive review of cases. Read more >>
Plan for Family-Centered Practice Due By End of Year
Child welfare officials kicked off an intensive effort to strengthen family-centered case practice in Maryland. Based on the preliminary results from a federal audit, the Maryland Department of Human Resources invited Advocates for Children and Youth and others to work on a plan to strengthen training for caseworkers and services that help more families keep their children safely in their own homes. Read more >>
New Baltimore City Consent Decree Approved
A federal judge approved a new Baltimore City consent decree which places greater emphasis on family preservation, independent monitoring and measurable outcomes. The judge rejected a last-minute attempt by the State to void the entire case. Read more >>
Maryland Children Languish in Group Homes: ACY Study
Maryland can make a stronger effort to find alternatives to group homes for teenagers in Baltimore City, based on a review of court records and group home contracts. Read more >>
Death Raises Questions About Maryland's Child Welfare Practice
Less than 3 months prior to DeSean Tyrese Wade’s death from abuse, the father reported suspected abuse to social services. Did child welfare workers stay involved with the family to ensure DeSean’s safety? Read more >>
State Agrees To Better Report and Investigate Child Deaths
In response to an inquiry from Advocates for Children and Youth, the Maryland Department of Human Resources agreed to better report child fatality figures and to more fully investigate whether maltreatment was a contributing factoring.Read more >>
State Seeks to Eliminate Consent Decree It Just Agreed To
Maryland child welfare officials seek to invalidate a proposed new consent decree in the longstanding Baltimore City lawsuit, based on a new Supreme Court ruling. ACY questioned this move as part of a pattern of evading external scrutiny. Read more >>
City Paper Highlights Group Home Efforts
The Baltimore City Paper featured efforts to find family placements for children currently in group homes. Read more >>
Florida Preserves Families Through In-Home Supports
Florida shifted funding from foster care and instead provided in-home counseling, therapy for the children and cash aid. Florida has quickly joined the top ranks of states that are turning around child welfare.Read more >>
More Kids Adopted Statewide, Baltimore City
The number of children adopted rose statewide and in Baltimore City in FY 2009, which ended June 30, in comparison the prior fiscal year. Read more >>
Baltimore City Agrees to Family-Centered Case Practice
In a new consent decree in the longstanding Baltimore City child welfare litigation, the State agreed to family involvement meetings in 85 percent of cases by July 1, 2010. The State will have to complete a formal evaluation of the new case practice within two years. It also will need to expand family preservation services. The decree provides a good road map, but success will depend on effective implementation of the key strategies. Read more >>
New Film Tells Story of Siblings in Baltimore City Foster Care
A new film tells the story of two siblings entering the Baltimore City foster care system and the court process. It ends with testimonials of youth currently or formerly in foster care. The film, produced by Foster Youth Inc., will be shown regularly at the Baltimore City Juvenile Court.
Afro-American Shines Light on Child Welfare Disparities
The Alliance for Racial Equity in Child Welfare in collaboration with the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus is hosting a briefing on racial disproportionality and disparities in our nation’s child welfare system. A recent article in the Baltimore Afro-American discussed the local dimensions of this persistent problem.Read more >>
Department To Fully Implement Team Decision Making in 2009
In response to a proposal by Advocates for Children and Youth, the Maryland Department of Human Resources committed in writing to “fully implement” Family Team Decision Making by December 2009.
Law Gives Foster Youth Health Coverage Until 21
Governor O’Malley signed into law the Foster Kids Coverage Act which allows youth in foster care to keep their health insurance until 21, even though many leave state custody at 18. Delegate Heather Mizeur was the lead sponsor for House Bill 580, which enables these youth to make an easier transition into adulthood.
Group Home Savings Lost; ACY Study Calls for Targeting Funds
Despite a drop in the number of children in group homes and foster care, the State has yet to see any savings, which could pay for services for more families to keep their children safely at home. To avoid continued losses, Advocates for Children and Youth recommends targeting funds and better implementation plans. Read more >>
State Ends Group Home Contracts To Reduce Oversupply
The Department of Human Resources is ending the contracts of some group homes, because it has reduced the children unnecessarily in these expensive placements. However, the State still does not have an overall plan, and the savings from initial reduced group home use have yet to materialize.
Proposed Child Welfare Reform Strategy Pays For Itself
Maryland can implement family-centered case practice and expand support for foster families at no extra cost to the State, according to a new fiscal analysis by Advocates for Children and Youth. The cost of training caseworkers and adding services is offset by reduced out-of-home placements, particularly in group homes.Read more >>
ACY Study: Neglected Children Kept Home But Without Services
Advocates for Children and Youth has determined that during the last 12 months 839 children in Maryland were left in their homes or with relatives following findings of abuse or neglect but without any increase in the number of children receiving in-home services or ongoing support from a caseworker as would be expected. Reducing out-of-placements is a very positive goal, but it must be achieved through proven strategies that protect children. Read more >>
Federal Stimulus Will Increase Child Welfare Funds
Maryland will gain millions of federal funds for child welfare, under the proposed federal stimulus package. This money can help pay for Family Team Decision Making and efforts to reduce group home overuse. Read more >>
Group Home Licensing Process in Limbo
Beginning October 1, 2008, the Departments of Human Resources and Juvenile Services must issue geographically-specific statements of needs before licensing any new group home. To date, neither Department has issued regulations needed to implement the new requirements. As a result, the licensing process is in limbo. Read more >>
ABA, Sun Support Efforts to Address Child Welfare Disparities
The American Bar Association passed a resolution calling for specific strategies to address the overrepresentation of racial minorities in the child welfare system. ACY found that these disparities are 50 percent higher in Maryland than the national average. In its lead editorial, The Baltimore Sun noted the ACY study and supported solutions including cultural competency training and use of Family Team Decision Making. Read more >>
Non-Family Residential Care for Youth Linked to Delinquency; Costing 50 Percent More
Advocates for Children and Youth released an issue brief about a new study finding that abused and neglected children in group placements are two-and-a-half times as likely to be arrested as comparable children in foster homes. The issue brief also shows how Maryland has increased spending on group care by 50 percent over the past four years. Read more >>
Alternative Response: Reducing Child Welfare Disparities
Alternative response is a strategy to reduce the disproportionate removal of African-American children from their homes and is a priority of Brenda Donald, Secretary of Maryland’s Department of Human Resources. Read more >>
Status Report on Group Home Reduction Efforts
During the past year, Maryland has made very modest progress in increasing the number of foster homes, a critical element of the strategy to reduce the percentage of children in non-family or group placements. Several recruitment efforts are just getting underway. More targeted recruitment is needed, and a much stronger retention strategy is imperative.Read more >>
State of Maryland's Kids: Child Welfare
Abused and neglected children are taken from their families and put in group care at several times the rates needed. The death of two-year-old Bryanna Harris highlighted the need for Governor O’Malley to prioritize effective family-centered case practice, including Family Team Decision Making and more support for foster parents. Read more >>
Important Steps to End Group Care Overuse: Session Wrap Up
To attract and keep foster parents, the FY 2009 budget includes funding to increase monthly payments and restore child care. Legislators also approved bills, sponsored by Senator Bobby Zirkin, which will begin the process to ensure that non-family group care is used only when necessary. Read more >>
Non-Family Residential Care for Youth Linked to Delinquency; Costing 50 Percent More
Advocates for Children and Youth released an issue brief about a new study finding that abused and neglected children in group placements are two-and-a-half times as likely to be arrested as comparable children in foster homes. The issue brief also shows how Maryland has increased spending on group care by 50 percent over the past four years. Read more >>
Anne Arundel County Pioneers FTDM in Maryland
To see Family Team Decision Making in action, the best place in Maryland may be Anne Arundel County, where more than 550 team meetings were held in 2006, the first year of implementation. Read more >>
Secretary Donald Supports Family Team Decision Making
In the wake of the death of Bryanna Harris, Human Resources Secretary Brenda Donald told state legislators that she supports intensive training of child welfare caseworkers in Family Team Decision Making. In two editorials, The Baltimore Sun endorsed Family Team Decision Making as a critical reform needed to fix a broken child welfare system in Baltimore City and make the difference between salvation and sadness for the city's most troubled families. Read more >>
ACY Analysis: State Plan Fails to Address Foster Home Shortage
Advocates for Children and Youth just issued an analysis of a new state proposal that is a start but lacks enough specific ideas to address the critical lack of foster homes. Read more>>
Child's Death Reinforces Need for Family Team Decision Making
Child deaths, like that of Bryanna Harris, can be reduced if caseworkers engage the family when an allegation is first made and help the family form a lasting and supportive team. Read more >>
Contempt Motion May Further Case Practice Reform
A contempt motion filed in the long standing Baltimore City child welfare class action suit can best serve children if the Governor negotiates a new consent decree that allows Maryland to prioritize case practice reform and group home reduction, and ensures compliance through a strong monitor. Read more >>
