Workgroup on Aging Out of Foster Care
HB0915 establishes a temporary Workgroup on Aging Out of Foster Care within Maryland state government. The workgroup is charged with studying the needs of young people who are leaving foster care or have recently left it, with a focus on the supports needed to achieve self-sufficiency and a successful transition to adulthood. Its membership is broad and includes state agency officials, youth with lived experience in foster care, and representatives from advocacy, legal, health, disability, and child welfare organizations.
The workgroup must identify what resources are currently available to these young adults, assess how effective those resources are, and determine where gaps or barriers remain. It must also examine what kinds of supports youth are most likely to use, look at circumstances where children were removed from their home county during foster care, and identify programs that have improved outcomes, such as hotline or anonymous support models. The workgroup must report its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly by June 1, 2027, and the act is set to expire shortly after that report is due.
The bill does not directly change substantive foster care eligibility, benefits, or agency duties in permanent law. Instead, it creates a one-year-and-one-month study group, provides for staffing through the State Council on Child Abuse and Neglect Citizens Review Board for Children, and authorizes reimbursement and a one-time $2,000 stipend for youth members appointed to the workgroup. Its practical impact is to direct state agencies and stakeholders to evaluate transition services for foster youth and potentially inform future legislation, budget actions, or program changes affecting housing, education, behavioral health, transportation, and other supports for emerging adults leaving care.
The available legislative history suggests generally favorable sentiment toward the bill. It was introduced with a bipartisan set of sponsors and moved through the House with a favorable committee report and adopted amendments, indicating support for studying the issue rather than immediate policy overhaul. The bill’s focus on youth with lived experience and cross-agency coordination appears to have been viewed positively as a way to gather practical recommendations for improving outcomes for foster youth aging into adulthood.
No recorded committee transcript or vote record is provided, so there is no clear evidence of major opposition in the available materials. The main points that could invite discussion are the use of state resources for a temporary workgroup, including staff support and stipends for youth members, and the scope of the study, which reaches into housing, health care, disability accommodations, education, and county placement issues. Any contention would likely center on whether a study group is the best use of resources versus direct service expansion, but the bill text and status do not show specific objections.