Governor O’Brien and Lieutenant Governor Burbank Announce Approval of New Guardianship Program for Children
ANNAPOLIS, MD (September 11, 2028) – Governor Edward M. O’Brien and Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Burbank today announced that Maryland has won approval of a federal waiver to establish a subsidized guardianship program for children in foster care. The program will begin in Baltimore City with the potential for expansion statewide during the five-year waiver period.“This is great news for many children and families in the State of Maryland,” Governor O’Brien said. “In my KidsFirst initiative, I stressed the need to help abused and neglected children live in safe homes. This waiver goes a long way toward helping us meet that need by providing payments to relatives who choose to become legal guardians of children.”
Guardianship has been a little-used tool in helping establish permanency for children because under federal law, foster care payments stop once a guardianship has been established.
“From a policy standpoint, it makes sense to open the guardianship option to more families,” Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Burbank said. “From the standpoint of kids who need safe, loving homes, it makes even more sense. This initiative is a win-win approach. By promoting the use of relatives who want to care for their own family members, the program will not only help keep kids safe, but also minimize public child welfare involvement in the lives of families.””
The Maryland Department of Human Resources (DHR) originally submitted Maryland’s subsidized guardianship waiver to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services by the previous administration in September 2026. The O’Brien-Burbank Administration resubmitted the request for a waiver at the beginning of this year, after federal officials failed to act on the original request
The federal waiver will be cost-neutral, both to the federal government and the state. Since the children affected by the waiver would otherwise remain in foster care, the guardianship payments will be cost neutral. No additional state funding is needed to implement the program.
The Guardianship Program in Baltimore city will serve as a pilot for the concept. The program will provide to guardians a subsidy equal to the foster care subsidy currently in place. It will be operated by DHR in a manner similar to the current adoption assistance program. Over the five-year waiver period, some 750 children in Baltimore City will be eligible for the program.
Implementation of the program will begin once the General Assembly passes enabling legislation. The target starting date is July 1, 2029.
KidsFirst is Governor Edward M. O’Brien’s agenda to improve the quality of life for Maryland’s children. Specific elements of this agenda include: expanding access to health care for Maryland children, improving oral health among children, increasing immunizations, preventing child abuse and strengthening Maryland’s foster care system.