Report on Systemic Failures in Maryland’s Foster Care System and Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals

1.0 Executive Summary

A recent incident involving the death of a 16-year-old minor, Kanaiyah Ward, in the custody of Maryland’s state care system has exposed significant institutional failures. The minor was housed in a hotel, a practice scrutinized in a state audit that revealed systemic deficiencies in oversight, resource allocation, and child welfare. This report analyzes these events through the framework of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), highlighting critical shortcomings in meeting targets related to health, education, inequality, and institutional integrity.

2.0 Incident Analysis: The Death of a Minor in State Care

On Monday, authorities were dispatched to the Marriott Residence Inn in East Baltimore following an emergency call. The incident involved the death of a 16-year-old female in state custody due to a suspected fatal overdose. This event serves as a critical indicator of the state’s failure to protect its most vulnerable population, directly contravening the principles of several SDGs.

• SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being): The death of a minor from a preventable cause like an overdose while under state supervision represents a fundamental failure to ensure the health and safety of children in care.
• SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions): The incident underscores a weakness in public institutions responsible for child protection. The state’s inability to provide a safe and supervised environment for a minor points to a severe lapse in institutional accountability.

3.0 Audit Findings: Institutional Deficiencies and Mismanagement

An independent audit released prior to the incident detailed extensive problems with Maryland’s practice of housing foster children in hotels and other temporary settings. The findings reveal a system that is not only financially inefficient but also fails to meet basic standards of care, thereby undermining key development goals.

3.1 Key Findings from the State Audit

1. Extensive Use of Inappropriate Housing: In fiscal years 2023 and 2024, 280 foster children were placed in hotels, with 82 of them experiencing lengthy stays ranging from three months to two years.
2. Financial Mismanagement: The practice cost taxpayers $10.4 million, with daily rates for a single child exceeding $1,200 in one case. This inefficient use of public funds detracts from investment in stable, long-term solutions, impacting SDG 1 (No Poverty) by failing to allocate resources effectively to support vulnerable families.
3. Lack of Vendor Oversight: The audit found that private vendors contracted for one-on-one care were often not appropriately licensed or supervised. This included a failure to conduct criminal background checks on vendor employees, a direct threat to child safety and a violation of the principles of SDG 16.
4. Neglect of Essential Services: Auditors noted a lack of evidence that children received required educational and health services. This neglect directly impedes progress on SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), creating long-term disadvantages for the children.

4.0 Response and Calls for Accountability

In response to the death and the audit’s findings, lawmakers are demanding immediate investigation and reform. The calls for accountability focus on the urgent need to strengthen institutional responsibility and ensure such a tragedy is not repeated.

• Legislative Demands: Lawmakers, including Delegate Jesse Pippy, have called for an end to the practice of housing children in hotels and are demanding transparency from the Department of Human Services (DHS). These actions align with the objective of SDG 16.6 (Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels).
• Department of Human Services Response: The DHS has committed to holding contractors accountable if standards of care were not met but has cited confidentiality laws in withholding specific details. Secretary Rafael López reported progress, stating the number of youths in hotels has been reduced from 54 to 11, and those in hospitals from 21 to 10.

5.0 Conclusion: Addressing Systemic Failures through the SDG Framework

The death of Kanaiyah Ward is a tragic consequence of systemic failures within Maryland’s child welfare system. The issues identified in the state audit—inadequate housing, lack of oversight, and neglect of essential health and education services—demonstrate a significant misalignment with the Sustainable Development Goals. The situation particularly highlights a failure to uphold:

• SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities): Children in foster care represent a marginalized group. The failure to provide them with the same standard of safety, health, and education as other children perpetuates and deepens social inequality.
• SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions): The core of the issue lies in the failure of public institutions to protect vulnerable individuals. Urgent reform is required to build accountable, transparent, and effective systems that prioritize the well-being of children over administrative convenience or flawed contractual arrangements.

Moving forward, a comprehensive strategy aligned with the SDGs is necessary to reform the foster care system, ensuring that all children are provided with safe, stable, and supportive environments that foster their health, education, and overall well-being.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being: The article’s central event is the death of a 16-year-old from a “fatal overdose,” directly addressing health outcomes. The broader issue of placing vulnerable children in hotels and hospitals without adequate health services also falls under this goal.
• SDG 4: Quality Education: The article explicitly mentions the failure to provide education to children in state care. The audit found “numerous children for which there was no support that educational… services were provided,” linking the situation directly to this SDG.
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities: Foster children represent a vulnerable group. The systemic failures described, such as inadequate housing, lack of supervision, and denial of basic services like education and healthcare, highlight the deep inequalities they face compared to other children, which is a core concern of SDG 10.
• SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions: This goal is central to the article, which details the failure of a state institution (Department of Human Services) to protect a vulnerable child. The calls for accountability, investigations, and transparency, along with the “scathing audit” highlighting “lax oversight,” all relate to the need for effective, accountable, and transparent institutions. The death of a child in state custody is a profound failure of justice and institutional responsibility.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

• Target 3.4: Reduce premature mortality from non-communicable diseases and promote mental health and well-being. The death of a 16-year-old is a case of premature mortality. The circumstances of her death in state care point to a failure in promoting her well-being.
• Target 3.5: Strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse. The cause of death being a “fatal overdose of a juvenile” directly connects the article’s events to this target, highlighting a failure in preventing substance abuse in a vulnerable minor.
• Target 4.1: Ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education. The audit’s finding that there was “no support that educational… services were provided” for children in hotels shows a direct failure to meet this target.
• Target 10.2: Empower and promote the social inclusion of all, irrespective of age or other status. Placing foster children in hotels isolates them and denies them the stable, supportive environment necessary for social inclusion and development.
• Target 16.1: Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere. The death of a child due to systemic neglect by a state institution can be considered a “related death rate” stemming from institutional failure and a form of violence.
• Target 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children. The practice of housing children with unsupervised, unlicensed vendors who lack background checks creates an environment ripe for abuse and exploitation, constituting a form of systemic violence against children.
• Target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels. The entire article is a critique of the Department of Human Services’ lack of effectiveness and accountability. Lawmakers demanding to “know what the hell is going on with this agency” underscores the failure to meet this target.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

• Mortality rate of children in state care: The article is centered on the death of one 16-year-old girl. Tracking the number of deaths of children in the foster care system is a direct indicator for Target 16.1 and 3.4.
• Number of children housed in hotels or hospitals: The article provides specific numbers: “280 foster care children in hotels in fiscal years 2023 and 2024,” with a reduction from “54 staying in hotels” to 11. This is a clear quantitative indicator of the state’s reliance on inappropriate placements and can measure progress for Target 16.2 and 16.6.
• Duration of stays in inappropriate settings: The audit revealed that “82 of them had lengthy stays of between 3 months and 2 years.” Measuring the average and maximum duration of hotel/hospital stays is an indicator of institutional inefficiency.
• Rate of educational service provision for foster children: The audit’s finding of “no support that educational… services were provided” implies that the percentage of children receiving these services is a key indicator for Target 4.1.
• Percentage of care providers who are licensed and have passed background checks: The audit’s discovery that vendors were “not appropriately licensed” and there was a “lack of criminal background checks” makes this a critical indicator for measuring the safety and accountability of the system (Target 16.6).
• Financial expenditure on temporary housing: The article states that housing children in hotels “cost taxpayers $10.4 million.” In one case, the cost was “$1,200 a day.” Tracking this expenditure is an indicator of institutional inefficiency and the misallocation of resources that could be used for proper care.

4. Summary Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: cbsnews.com