EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MAT TER ADDED TO EXISTIN G LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
Underlining indicates amendments to bill.
Strike out indicates matter stricken from the bill by amendment or deleted from the law by
amendment.
*hb0833*
HOUSE BILL 833
D4 4lr1204
By: Delegates Williams and Wilkins, Wilkins, Simmons, Phillips, Arikan, Taylor,
Grammer, and Kaufman
Introduced and read first time: January 31, 2024
Assigned to: Judiciary
Committee Report: Favorable with amendments
House action: Adopted
Read second time: March 5, 2024
CHAPTER ______
AN ACT concerning 1
Children in Need of Assistance – Parents in Substance Use Disorder 2
Treatment – Children in Need of Assistance and Treatment Facilities 3
FOR the purpose of establishing a presumption that placement with a child’s parent is in 4
the best interest of the child, the child is receiving proper care and attention, and 5
there is not a certain emergency situation if the child’s parent is receiving certain 6
substance use disorder treatment and the child is in the presence of the child’s parent 7
for the duration of the child’s parent’s treatment; requiring a local department of 8
social services to file a certain report with a court under certain circumstances; 9
authorizing the Behavioral Health Administration to require a facility that provides 10
treatment for substance use disorder to provide beds and services to patients’ 11
children and allow patients’ children to be in the presence of the child’s parent for 12
the duration of treatment; and generally relating to children in need of assistance 13
and substance use disorder treatment. 14
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 15
Article – Courts and Judicial Proceedings 16
Section 3–815 and 3–818 17
Annotated Code of Maryland 18
(2020 Replacement Volume and 2023 Supplement) 19
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 20
Article – Family Law 21
Section 5–525(e)(4) 22 2 HOUSE BILL 833
Annotated Code of Maryland 1
(2019 Replacement Volume and 2023 Supplement) 2
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 3
Article – Health – General 4
Section 8–401 5
Annotated Code of Maryland 6
(2023 Replacement Volume) 7
SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 8
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 9
Article – Courts and Judicial Proceedings 10
3–815. 11
(a) In accordance with regulations adopted by the Department of Human 12
Services, a local department may authorize shelter care for a child who may be in need of 13
assistance and has been taken into custody under this subtitle. 14
(b) A local department may place a child in emergency shelter care before a 15
hearing if: 16
(1) Placement is required to protect the child from serious immediate 17
danger; 18
(2) There is no parent, guardian, custodian, relative, or other person able 19
to provide supervision; and 20
(3) (i) 1. The child’s continued placement in the child’s home is 21
contrary to the welfare of the child; and 22
2. Because of an alleged emergency situation, removal from 23
the home is reasonable under the circumstances to provide for the safety of the child; or 24
(ii) 1. Reasonable efforts have been made but have been 25
unsuccessful in preventing or eliminating the need for removal from the child’s home; and 26
2. As appropriate, reasonable efforts are being made to 27
return the child to the child’s home. 28
(c) (1) Whenever a child is not returned to the child’s parent, guardian, or 29
custodian, the local department shall immediately file a petition to authorize continued 30
shelter care. 31
HOUSE BILL 833 3
(2) (i) The court shall hold a shelter care hearing on the petition before 1
disposition to determine whether the temporary placement of the child outside of the home 2
is warranted. 3
(ii) Unless extended on good cause shown, a shelter care hearing 4
shall be held not later than the next day on which the circuit court is in session. 5
(3) If the child’s parents, guardian, custodian, or relatives can be located, 6
reasonable notice, oral or written, stating the time, place, and purpose of the shelter care 7
hearing shall be given. 8
(4) A court may not order shelter care for more than 30 days except that 9
shelter care may be extended for up to an additional 30 days if the court finds after a 10
hearing held as part of an adjudication that continued shelter care is needed to provide for 11
the safety of the child. 12
(5) Unless good cause is shown, a court shall give priority to the child’s 13
relatives over nonrelatives when ordering shelter care for a child. 14
(d) [A] SUBJECT TO SUBSECTION (E) OF THIS SECTION, A court may continue 15
shelter care beyond emergency shelter care only if the court finds that: 16
(1) Return of the child to the child’s home is contrary to the safety and 17
welfare of the child; and 18
(2) (i) Removal of the child from the child’s home is necessary due to an 19
alleged emergency situation and in order to provide for the safety of the child; or 20
(ii) Reasonable efforts were made but were unsuccessful in 21
preventing or eliminating the need for removal of the child from the home. 22
(e) IF A CHILD’S PARENT IS RECEIVIN G TREATMENT IN A RES IDENTIAL OR 23
OUTPATIENT SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER TRE ATMENT PROGRAM WITH BEDS OR 24
SERVICES FOR PATIENT S’ CHILDREN AND THE CHILD IS IN THE PRESENCE OF THE 25
CHILD’S PARENT FOR THE DUR ATION OF THE CHILD ’S PARENT’S TREATMENT , 26
THERE IS A PRESUMPTI ON THAT: 27
(1) PLACEMENT WITH THE CH ILD’S PARENT IS IN THE BEST INTER EST 28
OF THE CHILD; AND 29
(2) THERE IS NOT AN EMERG ENCY SITUATION UNDER THE 30
PROVISIONS OF SUBSEC TION (D)(2)(I) OF THIS SECTION. 31
(F) (1) If the court continues shelter care on the basis of an alleged emergency, 32
the court shall assess whether the absence of efforts to prevent removal was reasonable. 33
4 HOUSE BILL 833
(2) If the court finds that the absence of efforts to prevent removal was not 1
reasonable, the court shall make a written determination so stating. 2
(3) The court shall make a written determination as to whether reasonable 3
efforts are being made to make it possible to return the child to the child’s home or whether 4
the absence of such efforts is reasonable. 5
[(f)] (G) (1) An alleged CINA may not be placed in: 6
(i) Detention, as defined in § 3–8A–01 of this title; or 7
(ii) A mental health facility, unless committed involuntarily in 8
accordance with §§ 10–613 through 10–619 of the Health – General Article. 9
(2) (i) If the child is alleged to be in need of assistance because of a 10
mental disorder or a developmental disability, the child may be placed in a shelter care 11
facility maintained or licensed by the Maryland Department of Health or, if no such facility 12
is available, in a private home or shelter care facility approved by the court. 13
(ii) If the child is alleged to be in need of assistance for any other 14
reason, the child may be placed in a shelter care facility maintained or approved by the 15
Social Services Administration or in a private home or shelter care facility approved by the 16
court. 17
(3) An alleged CINA may not be placed in a shelter care facility that is not 18
operating in compliance with applicable State licensing laws. 19
(4) The Secretary of Human Services, the Secretary of Juvenile Services, 20
the Secretary of Health, the State Superintendent of Schools, and the Special Secretary for 21
Children, Youth, and Families, when appropriate, shall jointly adopt regulations to ensure 22
that any child placed in shelter care in accordance with a petition filed under this section 23
is provided appropriate services, including: 24
(i) Health care services; 25
(ii) Mental health care services; 26
(iii) Counseling services; 27
(iv) Education services; 28
(v) Social work services; 29
(vi) [Drug and alcohol abuse] SUBSTANCE USE DISORDE R 30
assessment or treatment services; and 31
(vii) Visitation with siblings and biological family. 32 HOUSE BILL 833 5
(5) In addition to any other provision, the regulations shall require the 1
local department: 2
(i) Within 45 days of placement of a child in a shelter care facility, 3
to develop a plan to assess the child’s treatment needs; and 4
(ii) To submit the plan to all parties to the petition and their counsel. 5
3–818. 6
(A) [Within] EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN SUBSECTION (B) OF THIS SECTION , 7
WITHIN 1 year after a child’s birth, there is a presumption that a child is not receiving 8
proper care and attention from the [mother] PARENT for purposes of § 3–801(f)(2) of this 9
subtitle if: 10
(1) (i) The child was born exposed to cocaine, heroin, 11
methamphetamine, or a derivative of cocaine, heroin, or methamphetamine as evidenced 12
by any appropriate tests of the [mother] PARENT or child; or 13
(ii) Upon admission to a hospital for delivery of the child, the 14
[mother] PARENT tested positive for cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, or a derivative of 15
cocaine, heroin, or methamphetamine as evidenced by any appropriate toxicology test; and 16
(2) [Drug] SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER treatment is made available to 17
the [mother] PARENT and the [mother] PARENT refuses the recommended level of [drug] 18
SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER treatment, or does not successfully complete the 19
recommended level of [drug] SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER treatment. 20
(B) THERE IS A PRESUMPTIO N THAT A CHILD IS RE CEIVING PROPER CARE 21
AND ATTENTION FROM T HE PARENT FOR P URPOSES OF § 3–801(F)(2) OF THIS 22
SUBTITLE IF: 23
(1) THE PARENT IS RECEIV ING TREATMENT IN A R ESIDENTIAL OR 24
OUTPATIENT SUBSTANCE USE DISORD ER TREATMENT PROGRAM WITH BEDS OR 25
SERVICES FOR PATIENT S’ CHILDREN; AND 26
(2) THE CHILD IS IN THE PRESENCE OF THE CHILD’S PARENT FOR THE 27
DURATION OF THE CHIL D’S PARENT’S TREATMENT . 28
Article – Family Law 29
5–525. 30
6 HOUSE BILL 833
(e) (4) If continuation of reasonable efforts to reunify the child with the child’s 1
parents or guardian is determined to be inconsistent with the permanency plan for the 2
child[,]: 3
(I) reasonable efforts shall be made to place the child in a timely 4
manner in accordance with the permanency plan, including consideration of both in–State 5
and out–of–state placements, and to complete the steps to finalize the permanent 6
placement of the child; AND 7
(II) IN A CASE IN WHICH T HE PARENT OF THE CHI LD IS 8
RECEIVING TREATMENT IN A RESIDENTIAL OR OUTPATIENT SUBSTANCE USE 9
DISORDER TREATMENT P ROGRAM WITH BEDS OR SERVICES FOR PATIENT S’ 10
CHILDREN AND THE CHILD IS IN THE PRESENCE OF THE CHILD ’S PARENT FOR THE 11
DURATION OF THE CHIL D’S PARENT’S TREATMENT, THE LOCAL DEPARTMENT SHALL 12
FILE A REPORT WITH T HE COURT THAT EXPLAI NS: 13
1. WHY THE CHILD WAS NO T PLACED WITH THE PA RENT; 14
2. ANY EFFORTS THE LOCA L DEPARTMENT HAS MAD E 15
TOWARD PLACEMENT OF THE CHILD; AND 16
3. ANY DIFFICULTIES WIT H PLACING THE CHILD WITH 17
THE PARENT. 18
Article – Health – General 19
8–401. 20
(a) (1) The Administration shall: 21
(i) Promote, develop, establish, conduct, certify, and monitor 22
programs for the prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation related to the misuse of alcohol 23
and drugs; and 24
(ii) Promote and conduct training and research related to the misuse 25
of alcohol and drugs. 26
(2) (i) In cooperation with the Motor Vehicle Administration, courts, 27
police, and other agencies, the Administration shall approve appropriate programs of 28
alcohol and drug abuse education or treatment for individuals who are convicted under § 29
21–902 of the Transportation Article. 30
(ii) The programs under this paragraph shall be coordinated with 31
and integrated into broad planning for comprehensive community health and welfare 32
services. 33
HOUSE BILL 833 7
(3) The Administration shall: 1
(i) Review and, in accordance with regulations that the 2
Administration shall adopt, approve or disapprove each program that a public or private 3
agency wants to offer under § 6–219(c) or § 6–220(e) of the Criminal Procedure Article; 4
(ii) Promptly give the Administrative Office of the Courts notice of 5
each program approved under this paragraph; 6
(iii) Monitor and biennially review each program approved under this 7
paragraph; 8
(iv) Investigate each complaint made in connection with a program; 9
and 10
(v) Promptly give the Administrative Office of the Courts notice if 11
the Department withdraws its approval of any program. 12
(b) The Administration may: 13
(1) Develop pilot programs; 14
(2) For these purposes and notwithstanding any other law, establish, 15
direct, and conduct any experimental pilot clinical program for the treatment of alcohol or 16
drug abusers, including any program to administer, under medical supervision and control, 17
maintenance dosages of prescribed drugs; 18
(3) Either alone or with other public or private agencies, direct and conduct 19
basic research in alcohol or drug abuse, including clinical epidemiological, social science, 20
and statistical research; [and] 21
(4) In cooperation with the Department of Public Safety and Correctional 22
Services or any other appropriate correctional agency, establish and maintain, in any 23
correctional institution in this State, programs for the prevention and treatment of alcohol 24
and drug abuse and for the rehabilitation of alcohol and drug abusers; AND 25
(5) REQUIRE A FACILITY TH AT PROVIDES TREATMEN T FOR 26
SUBSTANCE USE DISORD ER TO: 27
(I) PROVIDE BEDS AND SERV ICES FOR PATIENTS ’ CHILDREN; 28
AND 29
(II) ALLOW A PATIENT ’S CHILD TO BE IN THE PRESENCE OF THE 30
CHILD’S PARENT FOR THE DUR ATION OF THE CHILD ’S PARENT’S TREATMENT . 31
8 HOUSE BILL 833
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect 1
October 1, 2024. 2
Approved:
________________________________________________________________________________
Governor.
________________________________________________________________________________
Speaker of the House of Delegates.
________________________________________________________________________________
President of the Senate.