State Youth Ombudsman Program Manager

When you join the Maryland Department of Human Services (DHS), you join a team of more than 5,000 employees across the state dedicated to positively changing the lives of more than 1 million Marylanders each year. We do this by providing economic support, preventive services, and caring for children and adults.

We aim to deliver services so that we more quickly meet the needs of the people we serve. At DHS, we grapple with hard questions to find new ways to foster a culture of bold innovation. We do this to ensure that in Maryland, we leave no one behind.

This is a Management Service position that serves at the pleasure of the Appointing Authority.

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Maryland Department of Human Services
Social Services Administration
25 S Charles St.
Baltimore, MD 21201

Pursuant to Chapter 158 of the Acts of 2026 (House Bill 980 / Kanaiyah's Law), this high-level professional administrative and legal advocacy position serves as the State Foster Youth Ombudsman for youth experiencing out-of-home care statewide. Housed within the SSA Office of Family Advocacy, the incumbent operates with statutory independence to serve as a neutral, objective advocate for youth, caregivers, guardians, resource parents, and adoptive parents interacting with the Department of Human Services (DHS) and Local Departments of Social Services (LDSS).

The primary purpose of this role is to enforce accountability and transparency within the state's child welfare infrastructure. The incumbent independently investigates complex complaints regarding the rights and safety of youth in out-of-home care, resolves systemic and individual service delivery gaps, interprets statutory obligations, and delivers executive-level recommendations directly to SSA and DHS leadership to drive statewide operational and policy improvements.

At all times, the incumbent will provide customer service to both internal and external customers that meets or exceeds the standards set by the Department.

• Executes all duties, investigations, and reporting mandates in strict accordance with the statutory requirements of House Bill 980 (Kanaiyah's Law).
• Investigates complex, high-profile complaints and alleged violations concerning the rights, placement conditions, and safety of youth experiencing out-of-home care across all 24 Maryland jurisdictions.
• Conducts Independent Fact-Finding Reviews to evaluate whether actions taken by LDSS or contractual providers conform to federal and state laws, COMAR regulations, SSA policies, and established child welfare practice standards.
• Provides authoritative legal and technical expertise regarding child welfare, juvenile court jurisdiction, out-of-home placement restrictions (including the statutory ban on unlicensed settings), custody/guardianship matters, and due process appeal rights.
• Interprets and applies complex legal frameworks, consent decrees, and agency directives to determine appropriate resolutions for aggrieved youth and stakeholders.
• Formulates formal corrective recommendations based on investigative findings and consults directly with SSA Executive Leadership, Local Department Directors, and the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) to resolve sensitive or high-risk systemic non-compliance issues.
• Ensures absolute statutory compliance with strict confidentiality boundaries, HIPAA, mandated reporting protocols, and disclosure exemptions during all investigative and advocacy operations.
• Establishes and leads statewide outreach strategies designed to inform youth in foster care, kinship caregivers, attorneys, and advocacy groups of the Ombudsman’s role, responsibilities, and mechanism for submitting direct complaints.
• Engages directly with youth…