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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Prince George's County Foster Care Youth Task Force Meeting - September 17, 2026

County Council & Boards — Thursday, September 17, 2026

BodyPrince Georges County, Maryland

SessionCounty Council & Boards

DateThursday, September 17, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:24:11

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:00

Thank you everybody for being here today.

0:02

I would like to briefly introduce myself.

0:04

My name is Anya Makarva, and I'm now serving as a task force coordinator for the Foster Care Youth Task Force, taking over Nathaniel Tat.

0:14

Mr.

0:14

Tet, thank you so very much for being here.

0:16

And thank you for initiating the work.

0:19

I appreciate it.

0:22

So it is wonderful.

0:23

It is wonderful to be here.

0:25

Just for some housekeeping.

0:29

My committee assistant, Miss Rhonda, will be taking attendance.

0:34

So please, for every single task force member, please type present in the chat because we do need to track member attendance.

0:44

And for non-members, please type your name and organization you represent in the chat once again for our record keeping today because I'm taking over from Mr.

0:53

Tut, who did not have a chance to distribute minutes from Prime from Prime Meeting in advance.

1:00

So we will do minutes approval at our September meeting.

1:06

So once again, thank you everybody for being here.

1:09

And wonderful to have you here.

1:13

I also want to now introduce our two co-chairs.

1:18

So I would like to start with introducing DCA Reed.

1:23

And she represents, she serves as DCO for Health, Human Services and Education.

1:30

And of course, we also have our co-chair, Miss Autumn Joy.

1:37

DCO Reed, would you like to make some opening remarks, followed by Miss Autumn Joy?

1:44

I just want to say hello and thank you for the invitation.

1:47

Anya was uh we had a quick meeting.

1:49

Was it last week or the week before last?

1:51

Because I didn't really know much about this task force, but she had me a hello.

1:55

So as soon as she said that we're helping children, as soon as she said that there are 13 different types of foster children that need help, I said yes.

2:02

I don't even know what I've said yes to, but I I'm saying yes to helping.

2:05

So that's why I'm here.

2:07

Umfortunately, today I'm sorry.

2:08

I'm triple booked today.

2:10

So I have a meeting at 3:30.

2:11

I have one at four, one in four, and they and so on.

2:14

So I can't stay um for the entire meeting.

2:17

I apologize, but um I appreciate you all coming together.

2:20

I promise to learn more about exactly what you all do, and I thank you for your commitment to our children.

2:26

Um, really quickly, I'll just share that I had a family.

2:29

We had a family in need.

2:30

Um, a teacher or uh one of the representatives in a school got my personal cell phone number and called me and told me about a family that needed help that has six children in this county.

2:40

Um, with the help of our social services uh department, Jennifer Maya Thompson's on this call with the help of that department, with the help of my returning citizens' affairs division and a couple of our special assistants.

2:50

We were able to help that mom.

2:52

She actually has a full-time job.

2:53

She works, she has a car, but she fell behind on her rent.

2:57

And so she would not face homelessness.

2:59

We helped pay a month for rent.

3:01

We got her some gift cards to buy groceries for her children, and then we bought her several bags of toiletries and other items that she needs to keep her family of six children, ages two to 15 years old afloat.

3:12

So I care about people.

3:14

I care about our children, our adults, and everybody.

3:16

And we are always going to do our best to assist.

3:18

So if that means me joining a task force and helping work through what we're working through, I'm happy to be here.

3:23

Thank you so very much, Miss Reed.

3:26

It's really such a pleasure to have you here.

3:27

And once again, because we have two co-chairs.

3:30

So DCO Reed is really our key go-to on institutional interagency and operational matters.

3:37

And now I'd like to yield to our um co-chair Autumn Joy, who pres who will preside over and facilitate all of our regular meetings.

3:45

And she is our public relations facing co-chair.

3:50

Um Miss Autumn Joy.

3:53

Yes, thank you so much, Anya.

3:55

Um, and hello, everyone and uh DC AL Reed.

3:58

I'm so excited that it's it's you that I get to co-shirt with us.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Foster Care████████████████████████████████████████40%

Out Of Home Care██████████████████████████████████████38%

Procedural███████████████████19%

Public Health███3%

Summary of Proceedings

Prince George's County Foster Care Youth Task Force Meeting - September 17, 2026

The Foster Care Youth Task Force held a virtual meeting on September 17, 2026, at 3:00 PM. The meeting was called to order by task force coordinator Anya Makarva, who introduced co-chairs DCO Reed (representing Health, Human Services, and Education) and Autumn Joy. The primary agenda included a presentation on the analytical framework for the task force's work, discussion and adoption of bylaws, and planning for future meetings and member engagement.

Discussion Items

Analytical Framework Presentation: Anya Makarva presented a comprehensive research and analytical framework for the task force's work. Key elements included:
- Guiding values: equity, collective responsibility, trauma-informed evidence-based decision making, rights fulfillment, and belonging/inclusion.
- A four-phase timeline: pre-entry (prevention), in-care (lived experience), transition (readiness for independent living), and long-term outcomes.
- Infrastructure and capacity analysis, including funding, data systems, and caseworker workforce.
- Vulnerability of foster youth: national data showed 80% have experienced six or more adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), and 21.5% have a PTSD diagnosis vs. 4.5% of the general adult population.
- Overview of legal statuses (shelter care, voluntary, committed) and placement types from least restrictive (family-based) to most restrictive (institutional).
- Exit pathways: reunification, adoption, guardianship, and Another Planned Permanent Living Arrangement (APPLA).
- Maryland codifies 34 rights for youth in out-of-home care. A September 2025 OLA audit found missed medical/dental exams and instances of registered sex offenders sharing addresses with approved guardianship homes.
- The presentation relied on national, state, and comparative jurisdiction research; next steps include grounding data with county-specific information from the Department of Social Services (DSS) at the September meeting.
Bylaws and Scope Discussion:
- Lisa questioned language in Article One of the bylaws referencing "children of justice involved parents." It was clarified that the resolution (CR 126) uses that language, but the task force's methodology will focus on foster youth whose parents are justice-involved as a subset. The bylaws were kept as is.
- Yolanda Johnson suggested adding "inclusion of lived experience experts" to the scope of work goals to ensure accountability.
- Jennifer Amaya Thompson (DSS Director) requested using "out-of-home care" terminology instead of "foster care" in official documents to align with state language. Anya agreed to use state-approved language in scope and reports but keep bylaws consistent with the resolution.
Vacancies and Engagement: Anya reported four vacancies on the 19-member task force. DSS recommended filling them with representatives from the circuit court (two magistrates present as experts), a specialist from the local behavioral health authority, and two members with lived experience. Anya introduced a draft alumni engagement plan and proposed a trauma-informed training for the task force, to be scheduled for the September meeting.
Task Force Member Intake Questionnaire: Anya distributed a questionnaire to leverage members' expertise and relationships, due by August 20, 2026 (note: this date precedes the meeting date of September 17, 2026, as stated in the transcript; the discrepancy is noted but the original statement is reported).
Next Meeting: Scheduled for Thursday, September 24, 2026, at 3:00 PM. The meeting will include a presentation from DSS and potentially a trauma-informed training.

Key Outcomes

Bylaws Adopted: The task force voted on the bylaws as submitted. Roll call vote: Co-chair Autumn Joy Barrett (yes), Ms. Psalms Falkis (yes), Yolanda Johnson (yes), Lisa Dominguez (yes), Angela Smith (yes), Jennifer Thompson (yes). Motion carried with 6 votes. No quorum was initially present, but legal advisor Ramon confirmed that since no governing rules existed, the bylaws could be adopted without a quorum for this vote; subsequent votes will require a quorum.
Scope Memo: Not adopted; it will be submitted to the county council as a deliverable. Feedback on terminology and inclusion of lived experience experts will be incorporated.
Next Steps: Task force members to complete intake questionnaires by August 20, 2026 (as stated). The next meeting is set for September 24, 2026. Anya will work on filling vacancies, finalizing the alumni engagement plan, and coordinating trauma-informed training with a community partner.

Meeting Transcript

Thank you everybody for being here today. I would like to briefly introduce myself. My name is Anya Makarva, and I'm now serving as a task force coordinator for the Foster Care Youth Task Force, taking over Nathaniel Tat. Mr. Tet, thank you so very much for being here. And thank you for initiating the work. I appreciate it. So it is wonderful. It is wonderful to be here. Just for some housekeeping. My committee assistant, Miss Rhonda, will be taking attendance. So please, for every single task force member, please type present in the chat because we do need to track member attendance. And for non-members, please type your name and organization you represent in the chat once again for our record keeping today because I'm taking over from Mr. Tut, who did not have a chance to distribute minutes from Prime from Prime Meeting in advance. So we will do minutes approval at our September meeting. So once again, thank you everybody for being here. And wonderful to have you here. I also want to now introduce our two co-chairs. So I would like to start with introducing DCA Reed. And she represents, she serves as DCO for Health, Human Services and Education. And of course, we also have our co-chair, Miss Autumn Joy. DCO Reed, would you like to make some opening remarks, followed by Miss Autumn Joy? I just want to say hello and thank you for the invitation. Anya was uh we had a quick meeting. Was it last week or the week before last? Because I didn't really know much about this task force, but she had me a hello. So as soon as she said that we're helping children, as soon as she said that there are 13 different types of foster children that need help, I said yes. I don't even know what I've said yes to, but I I'm saying yes to helping. So that's why I'm here. Umfortunately, today I'm sorry. I'm triple booked today. So I have a meeting at 3:30. I have one at four, one in four, and they and so on. So I can't stay um for the entire meeting. I apologize, but um I appreciate you all coming together. I promise to learn more about exactly what you all do, and I thank you for your commitment to our children. Um, really quickly, I'll just share that I had a family. We had a family in need. Um, a teacher or uh one of the representatives in a school got my personal cell phone number and called me and told me about a family that needed help that has six children in this county. Um, with the help of our social services uh department, Jennifer Maya Thompson's on this call with the help of that department, with the help of my returning citizens' affairs division and a couple of our special assistants. We were able to help that mom. She actually has a full-time job. She works, she has a car, but she fell behind on her rent. And so she would not face homelessness. We helped pay a month for rent. We got her some gift cards to buy groceries for her children, and then we bought her several bags of toiletries and other items that she needs to keep her family of six children, ages two to 15 years old afloat. So I care about people. I care about our children, our adults, and everybody. And we are always going to do our best to assist. So if that means me joining a task force and helping work through what we're working through, I'm happy to be here.

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