Kinship Care is an issue that has long been a focus of mine. Today I met with Carnitra White and Pamela Miller of the Department of Human Resources to get an update on the State’s efforts on behalf of children in both Kinship Care and Foster Care. In recent years there has been a recognition that children do better if they can stay with relatives when their parents cannot care for them. The State now is primarily focused on keeping children with relatives and not placing them with non-relatives.
There have changes in Federal law and subsidies and grants which encourage the States to work toward this goal. Maryland has made much improvement and recognizes that we still need to keep focused on our objective. They have revamped the website for the Department of Human Resources to make it easier for relatives to get information concerning the support that is available to care for a child. The department hopes to appoint a local Kinship Care Coordinator in seven counties this year. This is very heartening and shows that progress can be made toward providing care for these children.