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DHS says hotel placements ended, reports hiring and contract steps; auditors press statutory limits
Summary
Maryland's Department of Human Services told a legislative briefing it had removed youth from hotels, implemented 100% background checks where it says it has authority, expanded kinship placements and is pursuing contracts and rate reform to boost capacity; auditors and some lawmakers pressed statutory and data questions.
Maryland's Department of Human Services told a Feb. 12 joint committee briefing that it has taken operational steps since the audit period to reduce hotel and hospital overstays, expand kinship care and strengthen background checks.
"As of yesterday, and actually back going into the fall, there are no DHS youth that is to say a youth that is committed by a court to the care of the state in a hotel," Webster Gee, chief of staff for DHS, said while presenting the agency's update. Gee added that hospital overstays had fallen more than 65% from January 2025 and that DHS is tracking approximately 3,775 youth…
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