A recent audit of the Social Services Administration found that the agency may have let children in its care be housed with registered sex offenders.
The 70-page report from the Office of Legislative Audits found that, among other issues, the state may have approved the placement of children in homes that were listed as the address for seven registered sex offenders. Auditors also found that one group of foster care homes had an employee who had been convicted of sexual abuse of a minor.
Many children end up in foster care because of sexual assault: 28.4% of the child abuse or neglect in Maryland in 2020 was sexual abuse.
As Lisae C. Jordan, MCASA's executive director, noted to Maryland Matters, placing those children in the care of registered sex offenders is “beyond irresponsible.”
“Rather than protecting them, the state is apparently exposing them further,” she said. “They’re one of the most vulnerable people in Maryland and they deserve better.”
The General Assembly's Joint Audit and Evaluation Committee will be holding an oversight hearing about these issues tomorrow.
