Maryland Foster Care Respite, Support Groups, and the Role of Your Caseworker

Foster parenting in Maryland without support infrastructure is a recipe for burnout. The families who sustain placements over time are almost always the ones who use the support systems available to them — respite care, peer networks, and a working relationship with their caseworker. None of these are automatic. You have to seek them out.

Respite Care in Maryland

Respite care is short-term, temporary care for a child in your home, provided by another licensed resource family or a respite provider so that you can take a break. Maryland funds respite care through the state, and the standard reimbursement rate is approximately $30 per night.

How you access respite care depends on your county. In most jurisdictions, you request respite through your caseworker, who identifies an approved respite provider. Some counties maintain their own respite rosters. Others rely on the resource parent's network — you find another licensed parent who can provide respite and the agency arranges the placement.

Before you need respite, set up the infrastructure for it. Ask your licensing worker at the beginning of your first placement: "How do I request respite in this county, and what is the process?" Some resource parents wait until they are exhausted to raise the question and then find out that the process takes two weeks.

Private agencies — Child-Placing Agencies (CPAs) like Bethany Christian Services or Pressley Ridge — often have more robust respite networks than public LDSS offices because they actively manage the resource parent relationships. If you are licensed through a CPA, ask your agency coordinator about their specific respite procedures.

Children placed in your home through therapeutic foster care placements typically have access to additional respite resources through the TFC agency, above the standard state reimbursement.

The Maryland Resource Parent Association (MRPA)

The Maryland Resource Parent Association is a statewide advocacy and support organization for foster, adoptive, and kinship families. It is commonly referred to as MRPA, though historically it has also been referenced as MFPA (Maryland Foster Parent Association).

MRPA provides:

Training opportunities. Maryland requires licensed resource parents to complete at least 10 hours of continuing education per year after initial licensing. MRPA workshops and regional events count toward this requirement. This is practical — you fulfill your annual training obligation while connecting with other foster families.

Policy advocacy. MRPA monitors state legislation affecting resource families and maintains communications with DHS leadership. If you want to understand the policy environment — including the Moore-Miller administration's 2025 kinship reforms and rate adjustments — the MRPA newsletter is one of the better free information sources.

Local chapter connections. MRPA's network includes county-level chapters and connections to informal peer groups. The strength of local chapters varies by region. The suburban chapters around Baltimore and the D.C. corridor tend to be most active, while rural chapters may be less organized.

For community-specific peer support, several Facebook groups operate for Maryland foster parents, including "Maryland Foster Parents" (statewide), the "Montgomery County Foster Care Support" group, and the "Prince George's Foster Parents Association," which emphasizes kinship care topics.

Your Relationship with Your Caseworker

Your caseworker is not your employee, and they are not your adversary. They are a professional with a case load that, in many Maryland counties, regularly exceeds what child welfare research recommends. In Baltimore City, caseworker turnover is a known challenge, and you may see multiple workers assigned to a child over the course of a placement.

The practical implications of this are real:

Document everything. Keep a log of contacts with your caseworker: dates, what was discussed, any commitments made. If a caseworker promises a service or tells you something about the case plan, write it down with the date. If workers change, your documentation preserves continuity.

Know your rights to information. Under Maryland statute, you have the right to receive all known information about the child's background, health history, and behavioral needs at the time of placement. In emergency placements, this information may be incomplete initially, but it should be provided as it becomes available. If you are not receiving case plan updates or court hearing notices, ask in writing.

Ask about the placement plan early. Within the first weeks of a placement, ask the caseworker what the permanency goal is, what the birth family's service plan involves, and what the anticipated timeline is. You cannot plan around a situation you do not understand.

The 24-hour rule for reporting. Resource parents are mandated reporters in Maryland. If you have reasonable suspicion that a child in your care has been abused or neglected — during a visit with the birth family, for example — you are required to report it to your local DSS or law enforcement within 24 hours. This applies even if the concern involves another professional involved in the case.

The Maryland Foster Care Licensing Guide includes a section on navigating the caseworker relationship, what documents to keep on file for each placement, and how to access respite care and support services in your specific county.

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