The Maryland Department of Human Services will no longer use hotels to house minors in foster care.
The change comes after the suicide of 16-year-old Kanaiyah Ward who was in the custody of the state at a Baltimore Residence Inn at the time of her death.
The teen was staying in the hotel with a caregiver under contract to the DHS.
On Monday the DHS released new guidance saying that all minors staying in hotels will be moved to a placement "appropriate to their needs" by November 24th.
There are more than 3,700 minors in out-of-home care in Maryland and six are staying in hotels.
That's down from 41 in January of 2023.
The DHS says it is committed to ending the use of inappropriate stays for all children in its care.
24/7 News Source contributed to this report.
