related article? Washington Post:

Weak on Child Abuse
Maryland rates an F.

Thursday, May 15, 2008; Page A14

A 2-YEAR-OLD Baltimore girl died last year after swallowing methadone, and Maryland child welfare officials publicly owned up to their failings. They rightly said that shining a light on their handling of the case, with all its tragic shortcomings, would lead to remedies that just might save the next Bryanna Harris. It's troubling, then, that Maryland's law governing the release of information in child abuse and neglect cases is one of the worst in the country.

Maryland was one of 10 states that received an F grade from national child advocacy groups studying compliance with federal disclosure rules. The District was awarded a B-minus and Virginia got a C-minus in the April report. The Children's Advocacy Institute at the University of San Diego School of Law and D.C.-based First Star faulted Maryland for giving administrators wide discretion to withhold information and for closing court hearings. Particularly bothersome is a provision that permits disclosure only in abuse or neglect cases in which criminal charges have been filed. Harm to a child shouldn't be kept secret just because prosecutors don't have evidence to bring charges. And why should the public's right to information depend on the predilection of a particular officeholder? There is no question that Human Resources Secretary Brenda Donald has made transparency a priority, but only a change in state law will ensure public access to all the facts.

Efforts to make this change have never gotten far in the General Assembly. That's part of an unfortunate pattern by Maryland lawmakers to look unkindly on bills that would toughen protections for children and women. Maryland does not have a child neglect statute in its criminal code. Domestic violence victims must meet an unnecessarily rigorous standard of proof to obtain protection orders. In the just-concluded session, legislators rejected a number of common-sense initiatives, such as those denying paternity rights to rapists whose victims have children. Their demise, as The Post's Lisa Rein reported, came at the hands of an influential House committee dominated by defense attorneys.

Ms. Donald told us she will shortly convene a work session with child advocates and other stakeholders to look at the state's laws and come up with reforms that make sense for children. Let's hope it's a step in forcing a much-needed change in attitude in Annapolis.