ANNAPOLIS, Md. – House Republicans today issued a statement at the conclusion of the Joint Audit and Evaluation Committee hearing on the Department of Human Services (DHS) Social Services Administration audit.
This notorious audit found that the agency failed to ensure individuals in positions to interact with children received background checks, lacked a process to periodically reconcile the Sex Offender Registry with its providers and vendors, and over-relied on the placement of children in hotels with unlicensed providers, with some hotel placements lasting up to two years. The audit was released just days before the death of Kanaiyah Ward, a 16-year-old under the care of DHS who was housed in a hotel.
Earlier today, House Republicans called for Governor Moore to terminate the Secretary of DHS, Rafael López, after it was revealed that DHS violated his ban on placing children in hotels and other unlicensed settings only four days after the ban went into effect.
“It is incredibly sad that, after years of repeated findings, the audit of the Social Services Administration is getting a groundswell of attention because the tragic death of a foster child occurred just days after its release,” said Delegate Steve Arentz, the lone Republican House member to sit on the Joint Audit and Evaluation Committee. “This agency had a blueprint of findings from the last audit duplicated in this one, which should have prevented many of the audit issues. We see this in many of the audits across the state government. They are plagued with repeat findings that, quite frankly, transcend Administrations. This is the department’s third consecutive negative audit. Ultimately, these bureaucrats know they can wait it out, that the attention will die down, and that they can continue providing substandard services to Marylanders. The General Assembly does little to enforce real accountability; taxpayer dollars are squandered; and, in cases such as this, lives are forever changed.”
Delegate Arentz continued, “This audit found that children under the care of the state were exposed to a registered sex offender, paid by the taxpayers, who proceeded to abuse them. It found that foster children, many of whom needed medical or mental health treatment foster care, were shelved in hotels – some for years. These children were supervised by unlicensed individuals who had not undergone the most basic criminal background checks. One of those children died. Where is the accountability? We don’t have a consequence for these constant missteps. The agency shifts the blame and promises they will be better, the Governor blames the previous Administration, and, in the end, the General Assembly does little to nothing to bring some order to these dysfunctional agencies.”
Accountability Provisions in Kanaiyah’s Law
House Republicans also took the opportunity, following the hearing, to announce the new accountability provisions that will be included in the Never Again Act of 2025 – Kanaiyah’s Law. Sponsored by Delegate Mike Griffith, who spent years in Maryland’s foster care system from the age of 12, this legislation will prohibit placing foster children in unlicensed settings like hotels and office buildings.
As previously announced, the bill also requires training, licensing, and criminal background checks for one-on-one care providers, prohibits the placement of foster children in homeless shelters, and grants the Department the legal authority to conduct ongoing monitoring and background checks of adults residing with children placed in guardianship homes.
“When we first began discussing Kanaiyah’s Law, we said that the bill would likely evolve as the crisis in DHS unfolded,” said Delegate Griffith. “With the gross negligence that is evident on seemingly every level of the foster care system, it is clear that independent oversight will be critical to guarantee the safety of the children in state care. The General Assembly’s independent auditors appear exasperated by DHS’s failings, noting that this most recent audit is the Department’s third unsatisfactory audit report in a row. Therefore, in addition to its other provisions, Kanaiyah’s Law will establish a Child Welfare Ombudsman within the Attorney General’s Office.”
Under the bill, the Child Welfare Ombudsman will be responsible for investigating and determining whether the needs of children and families under the jurisdiction of the DHS or a local department are being met in compliance with State law, that the rights of these children and families are being upheld, and that these children are not being abused or neglected.
The Ombudsman will receive and investigate complaints, including those from children within the foster system. They will review the operations, policies, and procedures of foster care homes, group homes, kinship care homes, residential treatment facilities, shelters for the care of abused or neglected children, and independent living arrangements for children under DHS care, including conducting unannounced site visits to institutions or facilities where children are placed. Similar legislation was introduced ten years ago, but did not pass.
“Just last week, a month after Kanaiyah’s death and a week before the audit hearing, the Secretary of DHS issued a policy prohibiting placing children in hotels and other unlicensed settings. Why did this take so long?” asked Griffith. “We passed a bill earlier this year that established a workgroup to study this and make recommendations – one that did not meet until after its own statutory reporting deadline. Why was that necessary if the Secretary could, at any time, change this policy? Why didn’t he change this policy before Kanaiyah died? It is very clear that this department is not as invested in the safety of these children as it should be and is in desperate need of constant oversight to ensure these children are, in fact, safe in state care. This is why this Ombudsman is necessary.”