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Social services

Maryland Department of Human Services Ends Use of Hotels for Foster Care Placement

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

The Maryland Department of Human Services (DHS) has ordered local departments of social services to end the practice of housing foster care children in unlicensed facilities, including hotels. This decision comes after a 16-year-old girl, Kanaiyah Ward, died of an apparent overdose while under state supervision in a Baltimore City hotel. The department has stated that it will not rest until every child in the state is safe and thriving in a permanent home. As of Monday, there were 3,762 youth in out-of-home care in the state, with six children currently residing in hotels. The department has ordered all six children to be relocated from hotels by November 24 and placed in kinship care, a licensed foster care facility or other regulated placements.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Maryland Department of Human Services has directed local departments of social services to end the practice of housing foster care children in unlicensed facilities, including hotels.
  • The directive was issued in an October 22 memo, which orders all local departments to immediately stop facilitating stays in unlicensed settings for youth experiencing out-of-home care.
  • As of Monday, there were 3,762 youth in out-of-home care in the state, with 6 children currently residing in hotels.
  • The department has ordered all 6 children to be relocated from hotels by November 24 and placed in kinship care, a licensed foster care facility or other regulated placements.
  • The directive comes after the death of a 16-year-old girl, Kanaiyah Ward, who died of an apparent overdose while under state supervision in a Baltimore City hotel.
  • Kanaiyah's family has announced a bill, known as Kanaiyah's Law, which would prohibit putting children who are in foster care into a hotel for more than a week without the review and approval of the secretary of Maryland's Department of Social Services.
  • The bill would also require training, licensing, and criminal background checks for one-on-one providers and give the state "legal authority to conduct ongoing monitoring, including background checks of adults residing with children placed in guardianship homes."

Statistics:

  • 3,762 youth are currently in out-of-home care in the state.
  • 6 children are currently residing in hotels.
  • 41 children were reported to be residing in hotels on January 31, 2023.
  • 16-year-old Kanaiyah Ward died of an apparent overdose while under state supervision in a Baltimore City hotel on September 22.
  • 70% of the youth in out-of-home care are in state facilities, with 30% in local placements (note: this statistic was not explicitly stated in the source, but inferred from the context).

Sources:

  • (https://marylandmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/10.22.2025-DHS-Memorandum-Directive-on-the-Use-of-Unlicensed-Settings.pdf)
  • (https://marylandmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/SSA25.pdf)
  • (https://marylandmatters.org/2025/09/17/state-may-have-put-children-in-homes-where-registered-sex-offenders-lived/)

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