Crossing Over for Kids: Child Welfare Bills Moving in the Maryland General Assembly

by Elizabeth DiTargiani, CPMC public policy intern

April 6, 2026

All four of the Coalition to Protect Maryland’s Children (CPMC) priority bills have officially passed the Maryland House of Delegates and are on their way of moving through the Senate. This marks a significant moment in the 2026 legislative session, one defined by an increased urgency for reform surrounding Maryland’s foster care system. 

This heightened urgency comes from real cases that are not only devastating, but preventable. 

In September 2025, 16-year-old Kanaiyah Ward died by suicide after an intentional overdose while placed in a Baltimore hotel. Her death sparked renewed scrutiny of foster care placement practices and helped drive momentum behind HB0980 - Family Law and Human Services - Guardianship Assistance Program and State Foster Youth Ombudsman - Establishment (Kanaiyah's Law) - which calls for a statutorily established ombudsman for foster children and an end to unlicensed settings, such as hotel and shelters as well as hospital and emergency departments past discharge – known as pediatric overstays.  

Maryland continues to face a pediatric overstay crisis, with approximately 30 youth currently remaining in hospital settings due to a lack of appropriate placements.  HB1559 - Children in Unlicensed Settings and Pediatric Hospital Overstay Patients - Placement - also was created to respond to the current foster care placement crisis by creating placement review teams, processes for data collection, and plans develop more appropriate and meaningful out-of-home placements. This bill was partially a result of last year’s HB0962/SB0696 - Public Health - Pediatric Hospital Overstay Patients and Workgroup on Children in Unlicensed Settings and Pediatric Overstays - a measure heavily supported by CPMC with many of its members serving on the workgroup. 

Another case that captured statewide attention is that of Tristan King, a 9-year-old child in foster care who went missing for nearly six months after running away from a social services caseworker. He was eventually found in March 2026 and placed in a treatment foster home. Together, these cases highlight the gaps in oversight, placement stability, and coordinated care that continue to affect Maryland’s most vulnerable children. 

To address some of these challenges, the coalition is helping to raise awareness about four key bills reflecting an effort to strengthen the system from a child-centered perspective:

HB1290 Child In Need of Assistance - Proceedings - Child's Right to be Present - creates a presumptive right for child to be present at their own legal hearings. The bill recognizes that a child should have a voice in decisions that directly impact their lives, while also preserving the right for child’s counsel to work with the child to waive participation if it is not appropriate or could cause harm. This balance ensures that courts can elevate a youth's voice without compromising wellbeing. 

HB1272 Family Law - Kinship Care - elevates the process of vetting prospective kin when being considered for an out-of-home placement by requiring that a child’s own feelings and perspectives be considered. The vetting shall consider whether the prospective kin will make the safety and wellbeing of the child a priority as well as the individual’s ability and willingness to protect the child and abide by court orders, safety plans, and any reunification efforts. 

HB1383 Children in Need of Assistance - Permanency Plan Requirements – strives to strengthen permanency planning in CINA cases. By creating more structured and intentional standards for how courts evaluate reasonable efforts made to assist a youth preparing to age out of care, the bill aims for that assistance to be thoughtful, consistent, and truly centered on the youth’s best interests. Current law lists vague and broad terms related to issues for which the young person should be prepared to transition into adulthood and maintain self-sufficiency and by putting these into stature, have these expectations apply more consistently across all Maryland jurisdictions.  

HB0915 takes a broader, systems-level approach by establishing a Workgroup on Aging Out of Foster Care. This group will bring together 15 youth with lived experience, either in the process of aging out or have already done so, alongside leaders in housing, education, health, and human services to identify gaps and recommend solutions. With a significant number of youth aging out of care each year, this effort is critical to improving outcomes in adulthood. 

Each of these bills passed the House with overwhelming bipartisan support, signaling a shared recognition that Maryland must do better for youth in and exiting foster care. At this writing, all have had their hearings in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, and we eagerly await whether they will be added to the committee voting list this week to be eligible for Senate floor voting session by sine die on April 13^th. 

The work is far from over. But this moment reflects meaningful progress toward a system that listens to youth, prioritizes safe and stable placements, and invests in long-term success. 

Click here to see all the child welfare related bills which CPMC had been tracking this session.