Approved plan is the first in the nation to both increase the age of support for foster children
and provide a guardianship assistance program
BALTIMORE – The federal Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families has notified the Maryland Department of Human Resources (DHR) that it has approved the state’s Title IV-E plan. The plan’s approval supports Maryland’s goal to produce the best possible outcomes for children in foster care.
Maryland’s IV-E Plan consists of two very important tools to benefit children. One is the extension of services to foster youth through the age of 21 and the other is a Guardianship Assistance Program. Because of the approval of the plan with these two important components, Maryland expects to receive approximately $5 million in additional federal funding.
Maryland is the first state to receive federal approval to increase the age of care to 21, and the only state to couple that with a Guardianship Assistance component. “The federal funding that accompanies the approved plan will help to support safe transitions for our youth by focusing on providing stronger services for older youth in care and assistance to relative caregivers,” Dallas said.
Approximately 50 percent of the 8,000 children in foster care are over the age of 14 and will need special supports to help them prepare to exit the system. Additionally, some 400 children currently in care may be eligible for the Guardianship Assistance Program which provides a subsidy to relative care-givers who establish permanent guardianship.
A copy of the plan can be accessed at http://www.dhr.state.md.us/ssa/pdf/MDTitleIV-EStatePlan.pdf
Continuing the state’s efforts to support older youth in care, Governor Martin O’Malley recently signed a bill that provides free tuition to foster youth through the age of 25.
