Maryland Foster Care in 2025: The Crisis, the Reforms, and What It Means for New Foster Parents

Maryland's foster care system made national headlines in 2024 and 2025 for a reason that disturbed even those who follow child welfare closely: children removed from dangerous homes were being placed in hotels. Not as a temporary emergency measure, but as a de facto placement option because licensed foster homes were unavailable.

Understanding what happened, why it happened, and what the Moore-Miller administration has done about it gives prospective foster parents important context — and, if you read it carefully, a clear picture of why this is actually one of the more significant moments to step forward.

The Scale of the Problem

Maryland has approximately 3,800 children in its foster care system at any given time. The system has chronically struggled with a shortage of licensed resource homes, particularly for older youth, sibling groups, and children with behavioral health needs.

When placements break down and no licensed home is available, children can end up in what the industry calls "congregate care" — group settings ranging from residential treatment facilities to, in the worst cases, hotels managed by contracted workers. In Maryland's case, the hotel placement practice became a documented pattern. Children, some as young as teenagers, were housed in motel rooms with rotating staff, disconnected from school and community, waiting for a permanent placement that was months away.

The death of Kanaiyah Ward, a 16-year-old in Maryland state custody, brought acute public attention to the conditions that hotel placements represent. Media coverage in the Baltimore and D.C. markets — WBAL, Fox 45, and The Baltimore Banner — documented specific cases and pressured the state for systemic change.

What the Moore-Miller Administration Changed

Governor Wes Moore's administration has framed foster care reform as a priority, with several concrete policy changes affecting the landscape for resource families.

Kinship rate parity. One of the most impactful changes has been aligning kinship care rates with standard foster care board rates. Relatives who formally license as "Restricted Caregivers" now receive monthly payments equivalent to the regular foster care board rate, rather than the historically lower kinship support payments. Reports from 2024–2025 show a 33% average increase in youth living with formally licensed kin statewide, driven in large part by this financial adjustment. In Baltimore City, kinship placements increased 18%.

Expanded licensed capacity. The Board of Public Works has approved over $1.2 billion in contracts to expand licensed foster care and treatment foster care capacity across the state. This includes creating 637 new potential placements and expanding trauma-informed treatment provider networks. The state is actively recruiting new resource families to fill this capacity gap.

CJAMS implementation. Maryland replaced its aging CHESSIE data system with CJAMS — the Child, Juvenile, and Adult Management System. This affects resource parents directly: all placement documentation, medical records, and case visits are now tracked through this platform. Families new to the system begin with CJAMS rather than needing to transition from the old system.

Movement toward single standards. The Moore administration has pushed to reduce the patchwork inconsistencies across Maryland's 24 county LDSS offices, aiming for higher baseline professionalism standards for both caseworkers and resource parents.

What This Means for Prospective Foster Parents in 2025

The state is in active recruitment mode. That is not marketing language — it reflects an operational reality. The Board of Public Works contracts, the kinship rate increase, and the political pressure to end hotel placements all point in the same direction: Maryland needs more licensed resource families right now.

That pressure has some practical effects for applicants. Some LDSS offices are running more frequent PRIDE training cycles. The kinship rate alignment has surfaced a population of relatives who were informally caring for children and are now motivated to get licensed. And the public scrutiny of hotel placements has produced a wave of reform-minded applicants who view fostering as a direct response to a documented system failure.

If you have been considering foster care in Maryland, the current environment is not a reason to wait for the system to "settle down." The state's urgency and the current reform momentum are arguments for moving now rather than later.

The Realistic Picture

None of this means the system is easy. Maryland's administrative structure — 24 separate county systems, each with its own training schedule, staffing, and processing pace — remains a source of confusion and delays for applicants who do not understand how it works. The shortage of licensed homes is most acute for older youth and children with complex needs. And caseworker turnover, particularly in Baltimore City, remains a genuine challenge for resource parents trying to maintain continuity.

But the combination of state funding, rate increases, and public attention on the system represents a more favorable environment for resource families than has existed in recent years.

The Maryland Foster Care Licensing Guide covers the current licensing requirements, how to navigate the 24-county system, and what the Moore-era reforms mean specifically for your application and any children placed in your care.

See more United States guides →