ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A bill working its way through the Maryland legislature would require background checks for guardians and ban the placement of foster children in unlicensed facilities like hotels, following the death of a 16-year-old girl under state supervision.
Kanaiyah Ward died in a Baltimore hotel while under the care of the Maryland Department of Human Services. Her death drew attention to widespread problems in the state's foster care system, and her mother is now part of the effort to prevent similar tragedies.
Kanaiyah Ward's death sparking change in Maryland's foster care system
"Kanaiyah was a wonderful daughter and we will miss her. But I hope that you don't think that we are here to just [memorialize] a loss. We are hoping that the young men and women who need the help get it and that the systems they rely upon to protect and serve them actually works," Brooke Ward said.
The legislation would mandate background checks for guardians after lawmakers discovered that people convicted of crimes against children had been allowed to foster children in the system.
"We discovered that multiple children were placed in guardianship homes with sex offenders and several of them were sexually assaulted," Delegate Mike Griffith said.
The bill would also prohibit placing children in unlicensed facilities, such as the hotel where Kanaiyah was being held at the time of her death.
"A report just came out a few days that children under 5 were put in hotels unsupervised. It's unbelievable we have to consider these things, it's unbelievable we even have to pass this law," Griffith said.
Griffith, a Republican representing Harford and Cecil counties, is the bill's sponsor. The issue is personal for him, he was in foster care himself while growing up.
"It's unfortunate that it had to take this type of tragedy for people to finally stand up and take attention but the important thing is people are," Griffith said.
The Department of Human Services says all children currently in its care have been placed in licensed facilities and that it has already begun implementing some of the changes outlined in the legislation. The bill would primarily codify those changes into law. It has bipartisan support.
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