Foster Care Task Force Meeting - May 12, 2026
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Foster Care Task Force Meeting - May 12, 2026
The Foster Care Task Force held its inaugural meeting on May 12, 2026, at 6:45 PM, chaired by Councilmember Edward Burroughs. The meeting began with introductions from members representing various agencies, including the Department of Social Services, Department of Family Services, Prince George's County Public Schools, CASA, Paths for Families, and youth representatives. The task force's charge, established by CR-126-2025, is to examine county practices, recommend policies, and propose budget actions to improve outcomes for foster care youth and children whose parents are incarcerated. The discussion focused on identifying gaps, hearing from lived experiences, and planning initial steps.
Discussion Items
- Youth Perspectives on Activities and Safe Spaces: Youth members Morocco Battle and Psalm Folks emphasized the need for safe, fun activities and a community where foster youth can connect with peers who share similar experiences. They highlighted that many foster youth lack stable, supportive environments and that structured programs like the Student Leadership Academy (SLA) provide critical stability and opportunities.
- Foster Parent Challenges: Jocelyn Rao, a licensed foster parent of 19 years, described the lack of support for foster parents, especially those caring for medically fragile or therapeutic children. She noted that foster parents often face disruptions to their workday, lack of respite, and difficulty accessing services like tutoring, extracurricular activities, and mental health support. She called for innovative coordination among agencies and automatic enrollment in county recreation programs.
- Barriers of Placement Outside the County: Sarah Boskin from CASA reported that of 44 youth on their waitlist, only 8 reside in Prince George's County. Many foster youth are placed in other counties, making it difficult to engage them in local programs and maintain connections with family. The need for more in-county resource families and kin placements was stressed.
- Support for Birth Families and Kinship Care: Members discussed the importance of including birth families and kinship caregivers (grandparents, aunts, uncles) in support systems. Jocelyn Rao suggested mentoring birth parents to aid reunification, and Elena Balan Butler (Director of Family Services) noted that the county is prioritizing kin-first placements and providing stipends to kinship caregivers.
- Leveraging Community Resources: Councilmember Burroughs proposed making all park and planning and school system activities free for children in foster care or with incarcerated parents. He also suggested engaging churches and businesses to provide holiday gifts and ongoing support, noting that current systems may not be well-known. Jennifer Maya Thompson (Director of DSS) acknowledged that the department has many services (respite, financial literacy, employment support) but needs to improve public awareness.
- Proposed Summit/Event: Autumn Joy (radio personality and ambassador) proposed organizing a summer event for foster youth and parents, combining fun activities with resource tables (e.g., banking, mental health). The group agreed to plan a gathering to collect input from youth and foster parents directly.
Key Outcomes
- Next Meeting: The next meeting will include a presentation from the Department of Social Services to outline current services, programs, and gaps.
- Event Planning: A subgroup will be formed to plan a summit for foster youth and parents, designed to gather feedback and provide resources. Volunteers were requested to join the planning group.
- Data Collection: The task force will send correspondence to foster parents and youth to identify their needs and preferences before the event.
- No formal votes were taken, but all members expressed consensus on the proposed next steps. The chair emphasized the need for actionable policy and budget recommendations, noting that the county budget is currently under negotiation.
Meeting Transcript
This meeting to order. Let's start by doing some remarks. Let's just introduce ourselves and say which agency we come from. Start with you. Awesome. Hello, everybody. Hello, everyone. Oh, wow, sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. Um, my name is Autumn Joy. Um, I am a radio personality, a television personality. I'm the general manager of Lit 106. Um, my foundation, Autumn Joy Live Foundation. We actually work with foster youth. Um, the Progressive Life Center uh named me their official ambassador. So I've been working with Progressive Life Center for about two and a half years and working with the foster youth um and and their program. And I'm just excited to be a part of this and um, yeah, get get going and learning everyone. Hello, everybody. Hello, everybody. My name is Morocco Battle. I am a part of SLA, the Student Leadership Academy, and I am chair of community service, a part of that division. I'm also a peer mentor in the student leadership academy, and I'm just very grateful to be here today with everybody and just I'm very excited. Hi, good afternoon, everyone. My name is Elena Balan Butler. I have the uh pleasure of serving as the director for the Department of Family Services. I was uh telling Lane as I walked in that I'm really really excited about being a part of this task force. Um, this uh foster care, a therapeutic foster care and things of that nature, take me back to my start and social services, so this feels like home to me. Thank you. And good afternoon, everyone. My name is Jocelyn Rao, and I am a Prince George's County resident. I am a licensed foster parent. I have been licensed for the last 19 years, uh, taking in children from all over the state of Maryland, but of course, my home, Prince Georges County. I'm a social worker by trade. I went to Howard University where I uh specifically studied behavioral health. Um, and so I've worked in the behavioral health system for over 23 years, from local government all the way up to the substance abuse mental health administration. I'm currently the senior advisor wellness integrator at the Maryland National Capital Parks and Planning Commission, and I'm also a certified death dualer. Um, I have multiple experiences of personal lived experience of being in systems of care, which is why who is home from college, who is at my home right now. Um didn't know he was coming home, but hey, home is always home. It's a pleasure to be here. Good afternoon, everyone. My name's Lisa Dominguez, and I'm the executive director of Paths for Families. We're a local nonprofit that serves the adoption foster care and kinship care community through direct service, family finding, counseling, and we do a lot of training with um Prince George's County Department of Social Services to help support their workforce. Good afternoon. My name is Sarah Boskin. I am the program director at Court Appointed Special Advocates. We are a nonprofit that train and supervise volunteers in the community to work with youth in foster care. Um I am stepping in for my executive director, Yolon Johnson, and she wanted me to make sure to say that we have uh we are celebrating our 25th anniversary this year, so uh working with youth in care. So congratulations. Good afternoon. My name is Psalm Folks, and I am a student in the District 8 Student Leadership Academy, and I'm also a peer mentor for the District 8 Student Leadership Academy, and I'm very happy to be here because youth deserve a voice in what is happening to them.
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