Commentary - Matthew H. Joseph: Right wrongs of Maryland’s child welfare system

Leaders in charge of child welfare fail to ensure children in foster care are visited by caseworkers even once a month, receive health care, and either are reunified with their parents or adopted in a timely manner.

Support for foster families has fallen apart, and more than 1,000 families have exited the system since 2003. This has forced the state to move more children into group homes, which is not only much more expensive but also unnecessarily keeps children from nurturing family settings that produce better outcomes. It also means Maryland spends more and more on deep end services, while allowing prevention and community-based services to disappear.

The loss of family preservation services, adequate staffing and flexible funding to support foster and kinship caregivers is not a secret, yet the budget for the upcoming year does not address it.

Notwithstanding this shameful history, the new leaders in Annapolis can take critical steps within their first 100 days to begin the process of reform.

Maryland has at long last secured a secretary of human resources with a track record of success. Secretary Brenda Donald must be supported and allowed to assemble a strong team and bring in the Baltimore-based Annie E. Casey Foundation as free management consultants to help her develop and implement a reform plan.

Gov. Martin O’Malley needs to include funds for and authorize the hiring of new caseworkers to bring caseloads down to standards established by the Child Welfare League of America and mandated by the legislature in 2006. He did not include the money for new positions in his initial budget; he needs to submit a supplemental budget as a sign of support for his new Secretary and recognition of his legal duty.

Legislators can approve legislation to increase payments to foster homes so that Maryland can reduce its unnecessary reliance on group homes and residential facilities.

Maryland can also expand substance treatment for parents. Some of this is tied to a health care initiative and a tobacco and alcohol tax increase.

However, the Family Recovery Program in Baltimore City is another vehicle for bringing in private investment, with the state promising to reinvest the savings when mothers break their drug dependency and are able to resume caring for their children ahead of schedule. This program needs to receive attention so that it can be enhanced and duplicated in other jurisdictions.

State official need to agree to spend the money and energy to fix the child welfare data system as quickly as possible. The Maryland Children’s Electronic Social Service Information Exchange is years behind schedule and still needs millions to work properly.

This system will prove an integral part of the governor’s ability to implement his State Stat initiative in child welfare. Fortunately, he has proposed $5 million in a supplemental budget to help fix it.

Finally, 100 days is not too early for Secretary Donald to signal her top child welfare priorities. The list needs to be short and focus on front-line workers and direct services. Reducing caseloads is the first step in reforming the way caseworkers support families. States from Alabama to Utah have taught caseworkers to help families build their own support teams and identify the services they need for long term child safety and well being.

The new secretary can identify as a priority the expansion of the continuum of community-based services needed so more children can stay at home or at least near their families.

With proper actions during the first 100 days, Maryland’s leaders can begin to start the process of providing real help to our most vulnerable children and their parents.

Matthew H. Joseph is Executive Director of Advocates for Children and Youth, a statewide non-profit promoting the interests of all Maryland’s children through research, analysis, legislative and media advocacy and community outreach.