BALTIMORE (JUNE 14, 2011) – Molly McGrath Tierney, director of the Baltimore City Department of Social Services (BCDSS), will make a media appearance on Father’s Day to bring attention to Baltimore City Department of Social Services need for foster families willing to accept older youth.
She will appear during the News Makers segment of the Sunday morning WBAL newscast on June 19, 2011 with newscaster Lisa Robinson. Currently, there are 4,200 children in the care of the BCDSS, of which, 55 percent are over the age of 14. BCDSS provides extensive resources and training for their foster parents. In addition, the department also provides a range of services to support the youth’s transition to adulthood and self-sufficiency.
“Our goal is to ensure youth have the skills to achieve success when they leave our care,” said McGrath Tierney.
Foster care is a family life experience that provides care and services for children who must live outside of their own families. Foster parents provide nurturing, stable care to children until permanency is achieved either through reunification or with adoption.
Ms. McGrath Tierney has over twenty years of high-level child welfare experience. As the director of the Baltimore City DSS, she manages Maryland’s largest jurisdiction with over 50 percent of the state’s child welfare caseload. She is a transformational leader who has implemented major reforms and improvements in the child welfare system.
The Baltimore City DSS is a field office of Maryland Department of Human Resources (DHR) the state’s social service provider. DHR collaborates with 24 local jurisdictions to: provide foster care, adoption, and protective services to children; collect and distribute child support payments; provide protective services, case- management, supportive housing, in-home aide services, and respite care to vulnerable adults; and provide temporary cash, food stamps, and medical assistance to families. It also funds programs for homeless persons, refugees, and migrant workers. Last year, DHR served over one million people in need. In terms of its annual budget, DHR is Maryland’s fifth largest state agency.
