Chapin Hall

Project Overview

Over the past decade, the Maryland Department of Human Services, Social Services Administration (DHS/SSA) and Chapin Hall have partnered to redesign Maryland’s child welfare system into a more prevention-oriented, family-centered, and accountable system of care. Together, we have strengthened safety, reduced unnecessary foster care placements, improved permanency, and built durable infrastructure for continuous quality improvement (CQI).

Since 2016, Chapin Hall has served as a strategic advisor and implementation support provider to SSA, helping state leaders translate their vision into action. This work is grounded in a capacity-building framework from Chapin Hall’s Implementation Collaborative and has focused on:

• strengthening leadership and governance,
• aligning policy and fiscal strategy,
• modernizing practice, expanding prevention pathways, and
• embedding data-informed decision making across the system.

Building Infrastructure for Sustainable Reform

Early efforts deepened implementation of Maryland’s Title IV-E waiver, institutionalized an integrated practice model, and established a robust CQI infrastructure. Chapin Hall supported SSA in strengthening the use of the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) tool, aligning policies and training with practice reform, and designing statewide performance dashboards to monitor safety, permanency, and well-being outcomes. These initiatives created a foundation for a system that uses data not simply for reporting, but for learning and continuous improvement.

As federal policy evolved, the partnership expanded to support Maryland’s implementation of the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA), state-led Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSR), and strategic planning for the 2025–2029 Child and Family Services Plan. Chapin Hall facilitated regional planning sessions across all 24 jurisdictions, analyzed statewide performance trends, and helped SSA articulate six forward-looking priorities related to prevention, kinship, workforce, service array, permanency, and quality improvement.

Looking Ahead

Maryland is advancing an ambitious vision for child welfare and adult services grounded in community-based prevention, racial equity, and cross-system collaboration. Chapin Hall continues to support FFPSA implementation, CFSR Round 4 preparation, and the development of a next-generation CQI infrastructure capable of real-time learning and adaptation.

With decades of experience in implementation science, child welfare reform, and system change, Chapin Hall combines research, data analytics, and hands-on technical assistance to help jurisdictions move beyond compliance toward sustainable transformation. The Maryland partnership demonstrates what is possible when states invest in long-term capacity building, shared accountability, and continuous learning.

To learn more about one aspect of this work, see: Transforming child welfare practice in Maryland through the integrated child welfare practice model.

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