A Baltimore Sun investigation reports that a Maryland teenager in foster care was sent to a homeless shelter after disclosing a sexual assault, raising urgent questions about how the state responds when children in its custody are harmed and left without safe housing options.

In September 2025, a 16-year-old girl named Kanaiyah Ward died in a Baltimore City hotel room while under the supervision of the Maryland Department of Human Services — a tragedy that quickly revealed deep, systemic failures within the state's child welfare system. A scathing legislative audit, a secretary's resignation, sweeping legislative action, and a bipartisan push for reform have followed. This is the full story of what happened, what was discovered, and what Maryland is doing to make sure it never happens again.

West Virginia's Department of Human Services is reporting measurable progress in child abuse prevention, with community-based programs now operating in all 55 counties. The developments come as the state works to overhaul a child welfare system that a 2025 federal audit found was noncompliant with key intake, screening, and investigation requirements in an estimated 91 percent of reviewed cases. State officials say expanded early-intervention services are strengthening families and reducing risk factors associated with child abuse and neglect.

ANNAPOLIS, MD — January 30, 2026 — Maryland lawmakers pressed Department of Human Services officials during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on January 28 about the troubling practice of "hospital overstays," in which foster children remain stranded in medical facilities for weeks or months after being medically cleared for discharge simply because the state cannot find appropriate placements for them.