March 1, 2009

Lost Savings: Status of Potential Savings From Reduced Use of Group Homes and Foster Care

This issue brief analyzes data from the Maryland Department of Human Resources that indicates despite reduced placements of children in family-based and institutional care there has been an increase foster care expenditures rather than substantial savings. The difference between potential savings and actual costs is $35 million. The brief states there are no clear reasons for why this happened and argues the savings could have paid for services to families trying to keep their children safely at home or to retain family foster homes. It is advocated that to ensure that savings are not lost in the future, the Department needs to target funding for services to families and foster families and develop implementation plans for reducing out-of-home placements and group home use. 5 charts and 3 references.