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*hb1272*
HOUSE BILL 1272
D4 6lr3411
By: Delegates Acevero, Fennell, Guyton, Hill, D. Jones, Martinez, Moreno, Smith,
Toles, Woods, and Young Young, Simmons, Taylor, and Conaway
Introduced and read first time: February 12, 2026
Assigned to: Judiciary
Committee Report: Favorable with amendments
House action: Adopted
Read second time: March 6, 2026
CHAPTER ______
AN ACT concerning 1
Family Law – Kinship Care 2
FOR the purpose of requiring a local department to consider a child’s feelings or views 3
about a prospective kinship caregiver in selecting a placement that is in the best 4
interest of the child in an out –of–home placement; including a certain unrela ted 5
individual identified by a child as an option for a kinship caregiver; requiring a local 6
department to consider certain factors when determining whether to approve an 7
individual as a kinship caregiver; and generally relating to kinship care. 8
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 9
Article – Family Law 10
Section 5–534 11
Annotated Code of Maryland 12
(2019 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 13
SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 14
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 15
Article – Family Law 16
5–534. 17
(a) (1) In this section, “kinship caregiver” means an individual: 18
2 HOUSE BILL 1272
(i) with whom a child who is in the care, custody, or guardianship of 1
the local department may be placed for temporary or long –term care other than adoption; 2
and 3
(ii) who is approved by the local department under subsection (e) of 4
this section. 5
(2) “Kinship caregiver” includes: 6
(i) a kinship parent; 7
(ii) an individual who is related to the child through blood or 8
marriage, adoption, tribal law or custom, or cultural custom or practice; and 9
(iii) an individual who is unrelated to the child but has a strong 10
familial or other significant bond with the child, or is a person identified by the CHILD OR 11
THE child’s parent. 12
(b) The Secretary of Human Services shall establish and maintain a kinship care 13
program. 14
(c) (1) In selecting a placement that is in the best [interests] INTEREST of a 15
child in need of out –of–home placement, in the absence of good cause to the contrary, the 16
local department shall give preference to placement with a kinship caregiver. 17
(2) The local department shall exhaust all reasonable resources to make 18
proactive, thorough, and timely efforts to locate a kinship caregiver for initial placement of 19
the child. 20
(3) IN SELECTING A PLACEMENT THAT IS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF A 21
CHILD IN AN OUT –OF–HOME PLACEMENT , THE LOCAL DEPARTMENT SHALL 22
CONSIDER THE CHILD ’S FEELINGS AND VIEWS ABOUT A PROSPECTIVE KINSHIP 23
CAREGIVER. 24
(4) If the local department cannot locate a kinship caregiver at the time of 25
the initial placement, then preference shall be given to a placement that most approximates 26
a family in which the child’s special needs, if any, may be met, taking into account the 27
following: 28
(i) the proximity of the placeme nt to the child’s home, extended 29
family, or siblings; 30
(ii) the child’s culture or language continuity; 31
(iii) the child’s age; and 32
HOUSE BILL 1272 3
(iv) the child’s developmental and educational needs. 1
[(4)] (5) If a kinship caregiver is located subsequent to the placement of a 2
child in a foster care setting, the local department shall, in the best interest of the child, 3
place the child with the kinship caregiver. 4
(d) A kinship caregiver may not be under the age of 18 years. 5
(e) (1) The local department shall approve an individual as a kinship caregiver 6
if: 7
(i) the individual is related to the child through blood or marriage, 8
adoption, tribal law or custom, or cultural custom or practice; 9
(ii) the individual has a strong familial or other significan t bond to 10
the child or the child’s family or is a person identified by the child’s parent; and 11
(iii) placement with the individual is in the child’s best interest. 12
(2) WHEN DETERMINING WHETHER TO APPROVE AN INDIVIDUAL AS A 13
KINSHIP CAREGIVER, THE LOCAL DEPARTMENT SHALL CONSIDER: 14
(I) THE INDIVIDUAL’S KNOWLEDGE AND UNDE RSTANDING OF 15
THE CIRCUMSTANCES SAFETY CONCERNS THAT LED TO THE NEED FOR THE CHILD’S 16
PLACEMENT; 17
(II) THE INDIVIDUAL’S PREVIOUS INVOLVEMENT IN HELPING OR 18
PROTECTING THE CHILD; 19
(III) THE INDIVIDUAL ’S PREVIOUS INVOLVEME NT IN 20
PREVENTING OCCURRENCES OF ABUSE OR MALTREATMENT OF THE CHILD; 21
(IV) THE INDIVIDUAL ’S CURRENT ABILITY TO PROTECT THE 22
CHILD; 23
(V) THE INDIVIDUAL’S ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND THE NEED FOR 24
PROTECTION OF THE CHILD; AND 25
(VI) THE INDIVIDUAL’S WILLINGNESS TO COOPERATE WITH THE 26
LOCAL DEPARTMENT; 27
(VII) WHETHER THERE HAVE B EEN PREVIOUS OR CURR ENT 28
ALLEGATIONS OF ABUSE OR NEGLECT ALLEGED A GAINST THE INDIVIDUAL BY THE 29
CHILD, THE CHILD’S PARENT, OR ANOTHER RELATIVE OF THE CHILD; 30
4 HOUSE BILL 1272
(VIII) THE INDIVIDUAL ’S WILLINGNESS TO ABI DE BY COURT 1
ORDERS; AND 2
(IX) THE INDIVIDUAL’S WILLINGNESS TO COOPERATE WITH THE 3
CHILD’S PARENTS AND TO FAC ILITATE CONTACT AS ORDERED B Y THE COURT AND 4
GUIDED BY THE SAFETY PLAN. 5
(3) A prospective kinship caregiver shall provide to the local department 6
any information the local department requests to enable the local department to determine 7
whether the individual meets the criteria specified in paragraph (1) of this subsection. 8
(f) The Administration shall adopt regulations and policies consistent with this 9
section. 10
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect 11
October 1, 2026. 12
Approved:
________________________________________________________________________________
Governor.
________________________________________________________________________________
Speaker of the House of Delegates.
________________________________________________________________________________
President of the Senate.