The tragic loss of 16-year-old Kanaiyah Ward, who was under the care of the Maryland Department of Human Services (DHS), has been confirmed as a suicide resulting from diphenhydramine intoxication, officials reported. With toxicology results in, the cause of death ruling has put a spotlight on the practice of housing foster children in hotels—a fraught circumstance that recently drew scathing criticism in an audit of the agency.
Found deceased at the Residence Inn by Marriott on North Wolfe Street on September 22, Ward's case has raised questions about the state's capacity to care for vulnerable youths. As reported by WBALTV, DHS had initially deemed her death as "questionable." According to the Chief Medical Examiner's Office, however, it is now clear that the teenager succumbed to the effects of an over-the-counter medication commonly known as Benadryl.
Concerns about the circumstances of Ward's death come in the wake of a damning audit that laid bare systemic failings within Maryland's DHS and Social Services Administration. Criticisms include failure to protect children from sex offenders and not meeting the basic medical needs of minors in the system. The CBS News Baltimore report emphasized that the audit revealed children were being placed in hotels and spoke of a contracted worker at one such hotel with a previous murder conviction.
Rafael López, Maryland's Secretary of Human Services, addressed the gravity of the audit's findings, stating, "We take the findings of this audit with the utmost seriousness." According to the same CBS News Baltimore report, cited by López, the state put 280 foster care children in hotels across 2023 and 2024. After Ward's death, which followed purported advancements in removing children from hotels, state leaders are calling for greater accountability and clarity on the safeguards for children still placed in such temporary accommodations.
