In this subtitle the following words have the meanings indicated. “Abuse” has the meaning stated in § 5–701 of this title. “Administration” means the Social Services Administration of the Department. “Child” means any individual under the age of 18 years. “Indicated” has the meaning stated in § 5–701 of this title. “Kinship care” has the meaning stated in § 5–501 of this title. “Local department” has the meaning stated in § 1–101 of this article. “Neglect” has the meaning stated in § 5–701 of this title. “Out–of–home placement” means placement of a child into foster care, kinship care, group care, or residential treatment care. “Ruled out” has the meaning stated in § 5–701 of this title. “Secretary” means the Secretary of Human Services. “Unsubstantiated” has the meaning stated in § 5–701 of this title.

The Secretary and the Secretary of Budget and Management shall develop and implement an outcome-based system of accountability for measuring the efficiency and effectiveness of child welfare services for children and families in the State. The outcome measurement system shall: address areas of safety, permanence, and well-being for all children in the State child welfare system; measure performance at the State and local levels; expand on federal outcome measures; use the indicators in §§ 5-1303 through 5-1306 of this subtitle to measure outcomes; and be used in whole or in part in the Department’s annual managing for results submission. The Secretary shall adopt regulations that establish guidelines for the collection of information at the State and local levels under this subtitle.

The effectiveness of efforts to address child abuse and neglect shall be measured by: the recurrence within 12 months of child abuse or neglect among victims of indicated abuse or neglect; the percentage of screened out reports of child abuse or neglect that are documented as reviewed by a supervisor; the incidence of child abuse or neglect for a child who, in the prior 12 months, was not removed from the home following an investigation that found indicated or unsubstantiated abuse or neglect; the percentage of child protective services investigations that are initiated and completed in accordance with § 5-706 of this title; for all indicated and substantiated cases of abuse and neglect, the percentage of children who: receive family preservation services; and are able to remain safely in their own homes for 18 months after receiving family preservation services; and any other indicators adopted by the Secretary under § 5-1302 of this subtitle.

The effectiveness of efforts to protect children removed from their homes from abuse and neglect shall be measured by: the incidence of indicated or unsubstantiated findings of child abuse or neglect of children in the custody of a local department, or a placement agency, for placements: in foster care homes; in kinship care homes; in residential treatment centers or group homes; with family members; and in other forms of substitute care; the incidence of indicated or unsubstantiated findings of child abuse or neglect within 12 months following the release of the child committed to the Department; and any other indicators adopted by the Secretary under § 5-1302 of this subtitle.

The effectiveness of efforts to address permanency and stability in the living situations of children in the custody of a local department, or a placement agency, shall be measured by: the percentage of children who exit foster care within time periods consistent with federal national standards with a breakdown by each standard; the percentage of children with more than two out-of-home placements during a report year; the percentage of children in the custody of a local department, or a placement agency, who have siblings living in different placements; the percentage of children who exit foster care and are: reunified with a parent or guardian; placed with a relative who is awarded custody and guardianship; adopted; or placed with a nonrelated guardian; the percentage of children in an out-of-home placement living in: kinship care homes; restricted foster homes; regular foster homes; treatment foster homes; group homes; residential treatment centers; and other specified types of placements; the number of foster homes and treatment foster homes available for children in the custody of a local department, or a placement agency; the percentage of foster homes and kinship care homes in which the following have been conducted according to regulation: required criminal background checks; fire and safety inspections; health and safety checks; reconsiderations, as applicable; and any other safety measures adopted by regulation; the number of children who are recommitted to the Department within 12 months of release from commitment to the Department; and any other indicators adopted by the Secretary under § 5-1302 of this subtitle.

The effectiveness of efforts to address the health, mental health, education, and well–being of a child committed to the Department shall be measured by: the percentage of children in out–of–home placements who received a comprehensive assessment in compliance with federal regulations for the early and periodic screening, diagnosis, and treatment program within 60 days of entering out–of–home placement; the percentage of eligible children entering foster care or kinship care who: have been examined by a medical provider within 10 days of entry into the out–of–home placement; and have a designated health care provider within 10 days of entry into the out–of–home placement; the percentage of school–aged children in out–of–home placements enrolled in school; and any other indicators adopted by the Secretary under § 5–1302 of this subtitle.

The measures in §§ 5-1303 through 5-1306 of this subtitle shall be used by the local departments and the Administration, and may be used by an entity that enters into a memorandum of understanding with the Department, to measure the efficiency and the effectiveness of child welfare services. Information collected by the State or federal government regarding the State child welfare system may also be used by the entities in subsection (a) of this section to measure the effectiveness of the child welfare system, including: the Maryland child and family services review; the adoption and foster care analysis and reporting system criteria; and the L. J. V. Massinga consent decree criteria.

The Department shall have a process for the assessment of the quality of casework services. An entity that specializes in child welfare services that enters into a memorandum of understanding with the Department may review and provide guidance on the quality assessment process developed by the Department. The quality assessment shall examine whether the outcome indicators established in §§ 5–1303 through 5–1306 of this subtitle have been substantially achieved. The process described in subsection (a) of this section shall assess the quality of casework services through in–depth child and family case reviews that involve direct interviews by qualified and trained reviewers with: children; family members; caseworkers; judges; court–appointed special advocates; foster parents; teachers; medical personnel; and others involved in providing support to the family. The child and family case reviews shall determine whether: children are safe; the needs of children are met, specifically that the children: are enrolled in school and receiving appropriate educational services; and have all timely medical, dental, and mental health services, based on the child’s needs; and the visitation between separated family members is occurring frequently and regularly, consistent with the best interests of the child. The performance reviews shall determine whether: the family participated in the development of the service agreement and the case plan; the service agreement addressed the behaviors and circumstances that led to child abuse or neglect; and the case plan and service agreement were timely initiated; the case plan was implemented and progress was made; all members of the team of professionals working with the family and the child met at regular intervals to make changes to services and supports as necessary; a caseworker was promptly and regularly assigned and accessible to the case; the assigned caseworker visited the child at least once per month; and a supervisor has been regularly assigned and accessible to the case; and the foster parent or kinship care provider is receiving all services necessary to meet the needs of the child, including child care, respite care, and other support services.

The Department shall enter into a memorandum of understanding with an entity that has expertise in child welfare best practices to assist in the development and implementation of a local department self-assessment process to monitor the quality of: child welfare services provided by the local departments; and the management of the child welfare system by the Administration. A local department self-assessment shall be conducted every 3 years. In conducting the self-assessment, a local department shall be required to: incorporate the results from the outcome measures in §§ 5-1303 through 5-1306 of this subtitle; incorporate the results of the quality assessment of casework services in § 5-1308 of this subtitle; and consider the results of the case reviews conducted by the Citizens’ Review Board for Children. After a local department self-assessment is accepted by the Administration, the local departments shall develop a plan to: maintain performance that meets standards; strengthen areas needing improvement; and describe how areas needing improvement will be addressed and how improvements will be measured. The Secretary shall adopt regulations governing the local department self-assessment process, including: the development of quality assurance procedures; performance standards; the timing of the assessment; the scope of the assessment; the process by which the Administration may accept or reject the local assessment and the plan; the process by which the Administration shall monitor the implementation of the local plans described in subsection (d) of this section; and the process by which the Administration shall use the assessments of the local departments to develop the statewide assessment under Title 45 § 1355.33(b) of the Code of Federal Regulations. The Department shall enter into a memorandum of understanding with an entity with expertise in child welfare best practices to collect and maintain information necessary to conduct a local department self–assessment and statewide assessment. Any unit of State government substantively involved with abused or neglected children may contribute information to the entity provided in paragraph (1) of this subsection.

The Secretary and the Secretary of Budget and Management shall ensure that sufficient numbers of qualified child welfare staff, as specified in § 4–301 of the Human Services Article, are hired and retained in order to achieve caseload ratios in child welfare services consistent with the Child Welfare League of America caseload standards. The Department, in consultation with an appropriate entity with expertise in child welfare services caseload ratios, shall develop a methodology to calculate caseload ratios in child welfare services for the State. The Department shall enter into a written contract with an entity that has expertise in child welfare services caseload ratios to annually review the calculation of caseload ratios used by the Department.

The Department shall establish and maintain a child welfare training academy to provide training on best practices for the following individuals: child welfare staff; child welfare administrators; foster parents; and kinship caregivers. The Department may provide training on best practices for the following individuals: the State Citizens’ Review Board for Children staff and volunteers; and Court–Appointed Special Advocate staff and volunteers.

In this section, “foster youth” has the meaning stated in § 5–304 of the Human Services Article. Subject to subsection (d) of this section, on or before December 1 of each year, the Department shall report to the General Assembly, in accordance with § 2–1257 of the State Government Article, the following information regarding children and foster youth in the State child welfare system: the number of child abuse and neglect reports, alternative responses, investigative responses, and findings for completed investigations; the number of children receiving in–home services; the number of new out–of–home placements by placement type; the number of exits from the child welfare system by exit type; the number of exits to reunification and reentries within 12 months after exit; the number of exits to reunification and reentries within 24 months after exit; the stability of out–of–home placements, including the number of placement changes; the stability of school placements; the number who graduate from high school; the number who qualify for a Maryland high school diploma by examination; the number who receive tuition waivers; the incidences of abuse or neglect of a child who, in the immediately preceding 24 months, was not removed from the child’s home following an investigation that found indicated or unsubstantiated abuse or neglect; the number of children in the custody of a local department or child placement agency who have a sibling who is not in the custody of the same local department or child placement agency; the health and mental health care provided, including the stability of health care providers, medications, and psychiatric diagnoses; the number of children who are not enrolled in school for more than 1 week immediately following a change in placement; and the number of children in an institution of postsecondary education, apprenticeship, or adult education program, disaggregated by program. Subject to subsection (d) of this section, on or before December 1 each year, the State Department of Education shall report to the General Assembly, in accordance with § 2–1257 of the State Government Article, and to the Department the following information regarding children and foster youth in the State child welfare system: the stability of school placements; the number of children with individualized education programs; the number of children with a plan under § 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act; the number of children who have been retained a grade, disaggregated by grade; the number of children who graduate from high school; dropout rates; the number of children who are truant students, as defined in § 7–302.2 of the Education Article; the rates of absenteeism; the rates of suspension; the rates of expulsion; the number of school–based arrests; and the number of foster youth who enroll in college and graduate within 6 years. In reporting the information required under subsections (b) and (c) of this section, the Department and the State Department of Education shall: maintain the confidentiality of information on children and foster youth in the State child welfare system; ensure that no personally identifiable information is disclosed; and disaggregate the information by county, age, gender, race, and ethnicity. In reporting the information required under subsection (c) of this section, the State Department of Education shall include, where appropriate, comparison data for children and students not in the State child welfare system. The Department shall publish each report required under subsection (b) of this section on the Department’s website within 30 days of submission of the report to the General Assembly. The State Department of Education shall publish each report required under subsection (c) of this section on the State Department of Education’s website within 30 days of submission of the report to the General Assembly. This section may not be construed to affect any other reporting requirements to which the Department or the State Department of Education is subject.