Maryland officials found evidence that neglect played a role in the death of a 16-year-old in foster care who had been living in a Baltimore hotel room, according to public records released to The Washington Post.
Outcry after the teenager’s death in September spurred the Department of Human Services to end its decades-long practice of placing foster care children in hotels, and the state removed all children in its care from hotels in November. But many questions around the circumstances that led to Kanaiyah Ward’s death have remained unanswered as the agency has been conducting an investigation into the incident.
The Disclosure of Information on a Child Fatality, also known as a Form 2037, which The Post and other media outlets obtained through a records request, offers the most detailed account yet of the days before Kanaiyah died by suicide on Sept. 22. It clears the one-on-one service provider Fenwick Behavioral Services of allegations of child abuse, but finds that child neglect was indicated in the teenager’s death.
The report explains how critical staffing shortages led to one chaperone being assigned to work a 53-hour shift. It also discloses apparent lapses in medication protocol that allegedly contributed to Kanaiyah’s death. The owner of the one-on-one service provider told The Post he is appealing the neglect finding.
Fenwick Behavioral Health was assigned to provide 24-hour one-on-one supervision of the teen during her temporary hotel stay that began in August 2025. In a referral request, the provider was briefed on Kanaiyah’s behavioral challenges that put her safety at risk, including a history of running away, damaging property and suicide attempts, the report says.
Kanaiyah, the report says, stayed in a suite-style room with a living room and kitchenette separated from the bedroom and bathroom by a door, so that a chaperone could stay in the living area while the teenager slept.
In the days before Kanaiyah died, Fenwick allegedly experienced staffing shortages that impacted the 24-hour supervision the teenager required. According to the report, Fenwick assigned a staff member to work a 24-hour shift that began at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 20. Another worker was supposed to take over at 10 a.m. Sunday, but reportedly called out sick.
Instead of finding a new staff member to step in, Fenwick allegedly extended the shift of the first chaperone to 3 p.m. Monday, Sept. 22. During that 53-hour shift, the staff member should have been performing hourly check-ins on Kanaiyah, according to policies outlined in the report. Fenwick did not notify the local social services department at the time of its staffing challenges, the report says.
When the chaperone checked in on Kanaiyah around 5:45 a.m. on Sept. 22, the teen responded but did not get out of bed, according to the report.
Hours later, around 10 a.m., when the chaperone checked on Kanaiyah again, the girl was no longer breathing, the report says.
Emergency responders found Kanaiyah lying on her side in bed surrounded by pink pills that had spilled in the bed and on the floor. They pronounced her dead at 11:01 a.m. According to an autopsy report, Kanaiyah died of an overdose that was ruled a suicide.
The child protective services unit of the Baltimore City Department of Social Services launched an investigation into the death, which ruled out physical abuse but confirmed Kanaiyah had been neglected.
“The neglect determination identified three individual staff members at Fenwick responsible for that neglect due to the failure to provide proper care and attention in ensuring Kanaiyah’s safety, by approving the worker to provide supervision over a continuous 53-hour shift, and by failing to ensure that medications were properly secured in the hotel,” the report says.
According to the report, Fenwick’s policy “required its one-on-one staff to provide continuous, 24-hour supervision, including hourly checks; directed staff that sleeping was not permitted during their shifts; and required that all patient medications be securely stored in a ‘lock box.’”
In a brief phone interview, Fenwick owner Eric Fenwick said he and two company employees were notified Oct. 7 that a state investigation indicated they acted as neglectful. Fenwick said he appealed and is awaiting findings in the appeal process.
Fenwick said he had not seen the report until The Post provided it to him Thursday.
“I will fight these charges, this accusation, with all I have and prove the innocence of my company,” Fenwick said.
He declined to give further comment citing a Jan. 30 hearing on the matter.
The report also provides new details on Kanaiyah’s years-long experience with the Maryland foster care system.
According to the report, Kanaiyah entered the Maryland foster care system in the summer of 2022 after a juvenile court designated her as a “child in need of assistance” due to a history of mental health and behavioral issues. The teenage girl was temporarily placed in the care of the Prince George’s Department of Social Services, which arranged residential therapeutic services and eventually allowed Kanaiyah to return home on a months-long trial. During her treatment, Kanaiyah attempted suicide and self-harm “at various times,” according to the report, for which she received emergency inpatient psychiatric treatment.
A residential program in Baltimore discharged Kanaiyah with 72 hours notice in August 2025, leaving the teen without another place to go. The Prince George’s Department of Social Services tried and failed to find another residential treatment program that would take Kanaiyah, and placed her in a hotel room, the report says.
The report also lists eight prior maltreatment reports involving Kanaiyah between 2019 and 2025, though all but one were either ruled out or unsubstantiated. Those investigations involved allegations of sexual abuse, physical abuse and neglect. In one instance, the Prince George’s Department of Social Services “conducted an alternative response” to an allegation of physical abuse, but the report does not say whether the allegation was substantiated or not.
If you or someone you know needs help, call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. You can also reach at a crisis counselor by messaging the Crisis Text Line at 741741.
The post Neglect played a role in 16-year-old foster child’s death, Md. finds appeared first on Washington Post.
