Schagrin: Maryland is failing to provide for troubled youth in state custody; Moore administration must act to prevent further damage

Wes Moore is inheriting a serious crisis the Hogan administration failed to address. We are neglecting children and youth who have high-intensity behavioral health needs because of insufficient therapeutic residential care options. Many in foster care are relegated to boarding for weeks or months in emergency rooms or to living in short-term psychiatric hospital wards with no end in sight because of the shortage. Others are being “placed” in hotels with gift cards for fast food and 24-hour supervision by contractors. This is an act of pure desperation for the local departments of social services and their case workers, who are charged with providing for the well-being of these children and youth and held accountable by the juvenile court and state and federal agencies.