Maryland Foster Care Court Process: CINA Hearings Explained for Resource Parents

Most new resource parents in Maryland are not prepared for court. They expect the caseworker to handle the legal side and their job to be parenting. That assumption can cost them months of confusion — and sometimes the outcome for a child they care deeply about.

Maryland's child welfare legal process is built around a specific designation called CINA — Child in Need of Assistance. Understanding what CINA means, when hearings happen, and what your role is at each stage is one of the most practical things you can do after receiving your first placement.

What CINA Means and Why It Matters

CINA stands for Child in Need of Assistance. It is the legal status a Maryland court assigns when it finds that a child has been abused, neglected, or left without adequate care, and that the parents cannot provide proper care at this time. A child does not have to be in foster care to be found CINA — some CINA cases involve in-home services — but every child who comes into your home through the foster care system will carry this designation.

The CINA finding is made by a judge, not by a caseworker. The Department of Human Services (DHS) brings the case, but the court makes the ruling. That distinction matters because the court — not the LDSS — ultimately controls the child's permanency plan.

The Sequence of Hearings

Maryland's CINA process follows a defined legal timeline.

Shelter Care Hearing happens within 24 hours of a child's removal from the home. Its purpose is to determine whether the child can safely return home immediately or must remain in emergency placement. As a resource parent, you are almost never present at this stage — the child may not even be in your home yet.

Adjudicatory Hearing occurs within 30 to 60 days. The court hears evidence and determines whether the facts alleged by DHS are true — in other words, whether abuse, neglect, or a lack of adequate care occurred. Your job at this stage is to provide a stable environment while the legal facts are being established. You are not testifying unless subpoenaed.

Disposition Hearing typically follows adjudication. The court decides the child's placement (usually formal confirmation in your home), the services the birth family must complete, and the initial permanency goal. "Reunification" is almost always the stated goal at disposition.

Review Hearings take place every six months. The court evaluates whether the birth parents are making progress on their service plan and whether the child's needs are being met. As a resource parent, you have a statutory right to submit a written or oral report to the court at review hearings. Many caseworkers do not proactively inform you of this right. You are entitled to notice of the hearing date and the opportunity to be heard.

Permanency Planning Hearing must occur within 11 months of the child's initial removal from home, then every six months after that. This is the hearing where the permanency goal — reunification, adoption, guardianship, or another planned arrangement — is evaluated or changed. If reunification has not been achieved and the court determines it is no longer a viable goal, this is where the path shifts toward adoption or permanent guardianship.

Your Rights as a Resource Parent in Maryland

Maryland law is specific about foster parent rights in court proceedings. Under Maryland statute, resource parents have the right to receive all known information about the child's background and needs at placement and throughout the child's stay. You also have the right to be notified of hearings and to be heard.

The practical problem is that these rights require you to advocate for them. If you are not receiving hearing notices, contact your caseworker in writing and ask to be added to the notification list. If your caseworker is unresponsive, you can contact the court directly through the Foster Care Court Improvement Program (FCCIP).

You are not a party to the CINA case — you cannot file motions or retain attorneys to act in the case the way the child's attorney (generally from the Office of the Public Defender's Juvenile Protection Division) can. But you do have the right to speak, and what you say carries weight, particularly at permanency hearings where judges are evaluating the child's attachment and stability.

Reunification and What Happens After

Maryland operates under a "reunification first" policy. The birth family is given services and a timeline — generally 12 to 18 months — to address the conditions that led to removal. If they succeed, the child returns home through a phased process called a Trial Home Visit, where the child is technically still in state custody but living at home.

If reunification is not achieved after 12 to 18 months, the LDSS typically moves to file for Termination of Parental Rights (TPR) under Family Law 5-320. A TPR finding makes the child legally free for adoption. At that point, if you have been the child's resource parent and wish to adopt, your existing home study — if kept current through annual reviews — can serve as the basis for the adoption home study.

Maryland's Adoption Assistance program provides monthly subsidies and continued Medicaid coverage for eligible children adopted from foster care.

The Maryland Foster Care Licensing Guide includes a plain-language glossary of every CINA term, a summary of your statutory rights at each hearing stage, and guidance on how to communicate with your caseworker and the court system effectively.

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