Senators Grill DHS Over Hospital Overstays for Youth in State Care

Maryland senators on the Senate Finance Committee pressed Department of Human Services officials in Annapolis in late January about a small but persistent number of children in state care who remain in hospitals well after medical needs have been met. Committee leaders said the stalled placements and lengthy stays raise questions about oversight, mental health supports, and whether the system is protecting vulnerable youth in Baltimore City and across the state.

Webster Ye, chief of staff at the Department of Human Services, told senators there were “no DHS youth in hotels or other unlicensed sites” and that the department had identified seven children in a hospital overstay status. Ye added, “To be clear, that is seven too many. We want to get to zero as quickly and as safely as we can. But we are taking steady efforts … to reduce that number.” DHS officials also told lawmakers the current seven represents a 65% decline from the same time last year, and department representatives said five of those children will soon be placed.

The committee heard broader context showing hospital overstays are not an isolated problem. DHS testimony for Senate Bill 696 noted that in federal Fiscal Year 2024, 102 children in the care and custody of Local Departments of Social Services experienced a hospital overstay. Department staff provided additional follow-up that five of the children currently identified had been in overstay status for more than four months, and that one child has been living in an outpatient mental health center since April 2025.

Sen. Pam Beidle, chair of the Finance Committee, described stark conditions for some youths and pressed DHS on custody and placement practices, saying, “It is not fair to the children who need behavioral health or medication. We are not helping children when we leave them in a facility like that.” Beidle recounted an account used in committee: “This child was in a room for 60 days. No treatment. Couldn't go outside. Had food and clothes, that was it. And I was told DHS doesn’t take custody until they have placement for children.”

DHS officials said voluntary placement agreements remain a constraint. Assistant Secretary for Programs Larry Handerhan told the committee, “We are actively involved in identifying placements. We work closely with the family to work through the VPA, identify alternatives to being in that hospital.” Senators and advocates noted that requirement can delay transfers and prolong a child’s hospital stay.

DHS outlined reforms it says are under way: establishing a permanent cross-agency oversight mechanism in the Governor’s Office for Children, creating a children and youth placement manager role, convening a rapid response placement team, improving data tracking and sharing, expanding kinship care resources, and offering incentivized compensation for residential providers. The department said it is finalizing a new policy to guide Local Departments of Social Services for youth in hospitals.

Lawmakers invoked the death last year of 16-year-old Kanaiyah Ward after a temporary hotel placement as the tragic backdrop for the session. Sen. Clarence Lam urged vigilance: “I would urge the department to please stay on top of this. It should not require the death of an individual under the state’s care to have to lead some of these systemic changes that need to take place.”

For Baltimore City residents, the hearing underscores persistent gaps in mental health placements and community supports that can leave children housed in hospitals without schooling or outpatient services. DHS says it is making progress, but the committee pressed for clearer timelines, data transparency, and faster placement of the seven children identified. Expect follow-up from lawmakers as DHS finalizes its hospital guidance policy and as local social services continue implementing placement and kinship initiatives.