Advocates for Children and Youth is a statewide non-profit focused on improving the lives and experiences of Maryland’s children through policy change and program improvement. We champion solutions to child welfare, education, health, and juvenile justice issues, positioning us to influence the full spectrum of youth experiences. This multi-issue platform helps us to improve the entirety of children’s worlds—the systems they touch, the people they interact with, and the environment where they live.

Testimony before the Appropriations Committee

Health and Human Resources Subcommittee

In SUPPORT of DHR Social Services Administration Budget

Rachel White, Child Welfare Director

February 7, 2018

Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony on the Department of Human Resource’s(DHR’s) Social Services Administration(SSA) budget.

SSA houses Maryland’s child welfare system, which cares for Maryland’s children, from newborns to 21 year olds who do not have adults in their lives that can adequately care for them. Due in part to their commitment to expediting permanency for Maryland’s most vulnerable children and families, Maryland has been reducing the numbers of youth in foster care for years. We commend SSA’s progress on behalf of Maryland’s children, which was only possible with adequate resources.

Advocates for Children and Youth shares the sentiments raised by the Department of Legislative Services (DLS) with respect to restricting funds for the DHS’ Foster Youth Savings Program until DHS submits a report detailing its plans for operating the program in the future, including its final determination on whether the program will operate as a matched savings program and planned use of budgeted funds. We ask that the report also address the feasibility of establishing a savings program for youth in care receiving federal benefits and whether federal benefits will be used to fill the accounts. Although requested, this component was not addressed in the December 2017 report. This issue is extremely important as it relates to foster youth who are transitioning out of care. Their outcomes are bleak as it relates to housing, employment and education and is significantly worse for youth with disabilities and having a significant savings can mitigate theses outcomes and save the state money in the long run.

With respect to transition planning for the Title IV-E Waiver Program, Advocates for Children and Youth agrees with the recommendation that there be a report on how DHS plans to prepare for the end of the waiver to ensure that evidence-based practices, support services, and other waiver interventions continue beyond the end of the IV-E waiver including the find sources to be used to support these services. The preservations of families are at stake and the end of IV-E funds should not determine, if effective services can continue or not.

We continue to be pleased with the leadership at DHR’s continued commitment to modernization. Investing resources in modernization, including eliminating Maryland’s current SACWIS[1] system, CHESSIE[2], is critical to improving outcomes for Maryland’s children, youth, and families. Having a new SACWIS system that caseworkers can access remotely will improve those workers’ ability to input important information in a timelier manner, which will also help ensure that the data is more accurate. It can also help improve their case practice by notifying them of important upcoming deadlines. Modernization will also allow the State to better track outcomes for Maryland’s children and families who are involved with the child welfare system. Without tracking outcomes, we cannot ensure that we are having the intended positive impact and making Marylanders’ lives better. Finally, investing in modernization will mean we can move away from the historical problem of our state agencies working within their own silos. Technological advances are such that DHR, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and the Maryland State Department of Education could all be inputting information into a single system. This would allow all of a child’s child welfare, health, and school information to be located in one single place. With a single system, the State could begin to monitor a child’s progress as well as non-system involved children’s parents do, which is the least we can do when we are taking over the care of these children.

OneNorth Charles Street, Suite 2400, Baltimore, MD 21201/ / 410.547.9200 /

One North Charles Street, Suite 2400, Baltimore, MD 21201 / / 410.547.9200 /

[1]State Automated Child Welfare Information System

[2] Children Electronic Social Services Information Exchange