STATE OF MARYLAND

August 14, 2014

The Honorable Nicholaus Kipke The Honorable Kathy Szeliga
House Office Building, Room 212 House Office Building, Room 212
6 Bladen Street 6 Bladen Street
Annapolis, Maryland 21401 Annapolis, MD 21401
Dear Delegate Kipke and Delegate Szeliga:
Thank you for your letter of August 12, 2014, in which you expressed concern regarding the health, welfare,
and safety of Central American children fleeing violence who have arrived in Maryland. Governor OMalley
shares your concerns and asked us to respond on his behalf to offer information about our statewide
community response to this challenge.
As you know, over the last several months, the number of children who have crossed our southern border
unaccompanied has increased. Over 90 percent of these children are from El Salvador, Guatemala, and
Honduras, where the lawlessness, brutality, and violence of drug cartels and gangs has destroyed families and
resulted in the assault, rape and murder of children. In Maryland, our diversity is our strength, and our state is
home to many families of Salvadoran, Guatemalan, and Honduran decent.
As detailed in a July 31, 2014 letter to President Miller and Speaker Busch, Governor OMalley called on
Marylanders to live up to the ideals and values that Maryland was founded upon and that have long held our
state and nation together. Our response has been guided by the belief that children placed here in Maryland
should be treated with compassion, kept safe, and afforded due process as they progress through federal legal
proceedings.
Its important to note that the federal government manages the primary mechanics of this process. Having
said that, we have sought below to provide an update on Marylands response and answers to the questions
your letter posed to Governor OMalley.
Status:
Through July 31, 2,804 children have been placed with sponsors living in Maryland. This figure is indicative of
Marylands established population of immigrants from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.
The rate at which children will arrive in the U.S. in future months is uncertain, and it is important to note that
decisions regarding the housing and placement of these children remain with the federal Office of Refugee
Resettlement (ORR) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). As a result, we are
unable to predict the number of children who will ultimately be placed in Maryland, or for how long children
will stay.
While the role of the State is limited, Governor OMalley has convened faith leaders and others to try to
marshal resources to serve unmet needs. Thousands of Marylanders have come forward to offer assistance to
sponsor families. The State can help coordinate existing resources to meet the basic human needs of those
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August 14, 2014
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children who enter our community. The Governors Office for Children (GOC), the Governors Office of
Community Initiatives (GOCI), and the Department of Human Resources (DHR) are continuing a series of
meetings with leaders from Marylands faith and business communities, emergency food distributors, human
service providers, and healthcare officials to identify existing supports for identified needs such as food and
clothing, pro bono legal services for immigration proceedings, and access to healthcare.
Health:
All children are given health exams when they enter the care of HHS. These exams include routine
vaccinations, as well as a mental health assessment and a screening for tuberculosis. Additional information
about health screenings is available through a FAQ page developed by ORR.
While proper medical screening is provided by the federal government, we remain concerned about routine
health care issues that may arise during a childs time in Maryland and are convening healthcare providers and
mental health professionals next week to coordinate the availability of health services.
Shelter:
ORR and HHS make the decisions with regard to the housing and placement of children seeking refuge, and
the federal government assumes financial responsibility for those children in the care of ORR and HHS.
Roughly 85 to 90 percent of children in these cases are subsequently placed with family members or relatives,
known as sponsor families, who then assume financial responsibility for providing shelter.
As noted in our July 31, 2014 letter to Speaker Busch and President Miller, a number of Maryland providers
expressed interest in applying for a federal grant opportunity that would allow the federal government to
enter into direct contractual relationships with providers capable of housing children seeking refuge. In
response, the Department of Human Resources (DHR) issued a statement of need on July 25 that will allow
us to license any provider that is awarded this grant.
Education:
Under federal law, state and local educational agencies (LEAs) are required to provide all children with equal
access to public education at the elementary and secondary levels. The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Plyler
v. Doe states that school systems are prohibited from asking about immigration status at any point and must
protect the confidentiality of any information regarding a students immigration status, even if it is acquired
unintentionally.
Due to privacy concerns, ORR and HHS have not released jurisdictional information with regard to the
placement of children in Maryland. However, the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) is working
with LEAs to provide technical assistance and address any access issues that may arise. Additionally, in an FAQ
released yesterday, the U.S. Department of Education identified potential financial resources for states and
LEAs that may see an increase in enrollment due to placement of this population.
Cost:
As noted above, the federal government is responsible for costs incurred while children are in the care of ORR
and HHS. Marylands efforts to date have been aimed at empowering public-private partnerships to match
expertise and existing resources to deal with this challenge. We launched a web page that allows those
interested in supporting these children to sign up to help. The page, which can be accessed through
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August 14, 2014
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www.maryland.gov or through DHRs homepage (dhr.maryland.gov), has attracted thousands of visitors and
hundreds of responses from individuals and organizations interested in providing tangible assistance.
We will continue to post updates about developments and statewide response efforts. If you have any
questions, please do not hesitate to contact us or Netsanet Kibret, Director of Government Affairs for DHR at
netsanet.kibret@maryland.gov or (410) 767-6886.
Sincerely,

Theodore Dallas Anne Sheridan
Secretary Executive Director
Department of Human Resources Governors Office for Children
c: The Honorable Martin OMalley