ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Howard County Executive Calvin Ball announced a $122,000 investment in his upcoming Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) operating budget to launch a Kinship Care & Family Finder pilot program. This initiative, led by the Howard County Department of Social Services (DSS), focuses on locating and placing children and youth with relatives and trusted caregivers, known as kin. This program will also reduce group home placements and improve outcomes for children and families in the child welfare system.
Fiscal Year 2026 funds will also be used to train kin caregivers and provide the tools to ensure family success, improve placement decisions, and increase the number of resource parents.
“It’s important that we provide our children with love, support, and stability during challenging times,” said Ball. “The role of supportive adults plays a significant role in a child’s life, which is what makes this investment critical. By reducing group home placements, we are helping to improve outcomes for children and families in the child welfare program. Together, we will remind our children that they are seen, loved, and have an important place in our community.”
Long-term goals include increased permanency, fewer repeat placements, and improved exits from out-of-home care. Maryland has already seen significant progress—since the enactment of the Kinship Care Law, nearly half (48%) of children who recently entered out-of-home care since October 1, 2024, are placed with kin. This is a substantial increase compared to 28% of current kin placements for all children who entered out-of-home care previously. This is partly thanks to the state’s Kinship Care Law that expanded who can be considered “kin” to include more people in a child’s community. The new Kinship Care & Family Finder position will support timely and appropriate kin placement whenever possible. The Kinship Care & Family Finder program will help Howard County DSS increase its percentage of children who are placed with kin. In Howard County, approximately 20 percent of placements are with kin, which lags behind the state average.
Research shows that placement with family or kin provides children with greater stability, which may improve the permanency of out-of-home placements. Research on out-of-home care identifies several benefits to children who are placed with relatives, including:
● minimizing traumatic separation from their family and community;
● fewer behavioral issues;
● improved physical health; and,
● better academic outcomes.
“Research continues to remind us that children thrive when they remain connected to their communities, cultures, and families, whether by biological connection or by choice. We’ve moved with great urgency to make sure children experiencing foster care live with kin,” said Maryland Department of Human Services Secretary Rafael López. “This funding represents an important investment to continue our progress. We’re grateful for Howard County’s continued partnership and County Executive Ball’s commitment to delivering better results for Maryland’s children and families.”
Social workers are essential administrators of Howard County’s child welfare system and advocates for our community’s children. However, they face high levels of burnout, with more than 70% reporting stress that leads them to consider leaving the profession. Nationally, social worker turnover rates range from 10% to 25% annually, resulting in costly disruptions and lower quality of care for children in need. In Howard County, the situation is starker with the DSS experiencing an almost 100 percent turnover rate of its child welfare caseworkers in the past 12 months.
Howard County DSS will use FY 2026 funds to implement initiatives addressing these challenges with FY 2026 funds. Specifically, the CARE Supervision Framework program is valuable training to reduce turnover rates, improve employee morale and productivity, and strengthen caseworkers’ service delivery. The Leadership Academy is a professional development program for caseworkers to continue their education in accountability, emotional intelligence, leadership skills, and time management. Howard County DSS has approximately 25 child welfare caseworkers who will benefit from this investment.
“The Howard County Department of Social Services is building a future where fewer children enter out-of-home care and more families have the resources that they need to stay together and succeed,” said Geneva Rieu, Director of Howard County Department of Social Services, Geneva. “This critical funding helps us grow both our workforce and our ability to provide stable support to those we serve.”
Publisher’s Note: Maryland Newspapers LLC looks forward to providing regular coverage of news and events in Howard County, Maryland. Please support that effort by visiting HowardCourier.com daily, uploading our mobile app, and subscribing, if finances permit.
and then