The last morning of the girl’s life began as so many mornings do for teenagers— with someone waking her up for school.

But the person rousing the 16-year-old wasn’t a relative. It was a state-contracted personal aide. And the teen wasn’t home in Prince George’s County. She was in an East Baltimore hotel where she’d been living for the last month and a half under the supervision of the state Department of Human Services.

The teen’s aide, who is supposed to provide 24/7 care, first went to her room to wake her around 6 a.m on Monday, Sept. 22, according to a recording of a 911 call obtained by The Banner. Except the teen did not get up then, or when the aide tried again hours later.

By late morning, the police had been called to the hotel. The foster teen had died from a suspected overdose. The Baltimore Banner is not naming the teen due to her age and uncertain circumstances of her death.

Although authorities are still investigating the teen’s death, her mother in an interview emphasized what horrified child welfare advocates and state lawmakers have stressed in recent days. She should not have been in that hotel in the first place. Nor should any Maryland foster kids.

As of last Thursday, there were 18 children in the state’s care who were residing in hotels, which state officials have said is a last resort when other facilities are not available. That figure is down from 59 children in hotels a year ago, according to the human services agency.

Brooke Ward said her daughter was in state custody because she had debilitating mental and behavioral health issues. She had been suicidal in recent months — there had been an attempt earlier this year, Ward said — and the state was aware of her condition. She questioned why her daughter would be placed in a hotel where supervision can be inadequate.

“They knew. They knew she was high risk,” Ward said. “Why would you take your eyes off her?”

The Maryland Department of Human Services declined to answer questions about the teen’s case, including whether it has suspended the vendor who supplied her personal aide or why she had been placed in a hotel so far from home. State law closely protects records about children, especially those in foster care.

“The Department is investigating this incident. If we find that our standards for care were not met, we will hold our contractors accountable,” the agency wrote in a statement. ”We are committed to transparency and being as open as possible while maintaining the confidentiality of children and their families, as protected by law.”

Family members described the teen as a bubbly, intelligent girl who entered state care when she was in middle school. She had attended Augusta Fells Savage Institute of Visual Arts in Baltimore since September 2024, according to city schools.

“She was our granddaughter. All we wanted was care for her,” Michael Ward, the teen’s grandfather, said.

She was moved to the hotel after stints in and out of group homes and the emergency department, Brooke Ward said.

Ward said she wanted her daughter placed in a residential treatment facility where she would receive specialized care but the state was having difficulties finding a suitable facility.

“We are still at a roadblock regarding placement,” Ward said a case worker texted her on Aug. 20.

For child welfare advocates, the teen’s death did not come as a surprise. For years they have railed against the dangers of housing children in both hotels and hospitals, because those children tend to be the “most vulnerable” and have the “most complex” needs, said Erica LeMon, advocacy director for children’s rights at Maryland Legal Aid.

“I hope people really think about what happened and think about how it should have never happened,” LeMon said. “No child should die in a hotel.”

A legislative audit released the week before the death blistered the department’s foster care system, finding the state regularly places children in hotels under the supervision of unlicensed caretakers. Over a two-year period, 280 children in the state’s care were sent to live in hotels, sometimes for months or years on end and at enormous cost to taxpayers. Auditors determined the cost of contracting personal caretakers, required for hotel settings, came to $1,259 a day.

The contracted caretakers, commonly referred to as one-to-one aides, function like babysitters, said Mitch Mirviss, an attorney at Venable who has been suing the state and the Baltimore City Department of Social Services for four decades. Their main responsibilities include making sure the child in their care is getting fed and attending school.

Fenwick Behavioral Services, the vendor who supplied the teen’s personal aide, is a licensed caretaker. It did not respond to messages seeking comment. An old job posting from the company for one-to-one aides stated it required prospective applicants to pass a criminal background check, among other qualifications. Mirviss suggested that Fenwick did not provide sufficient oversight of the teen before her death.

DHS Secretary Rafael López said during a Board of Public Works meeting last month that the department was “focused like a laser on hospitals and hotels, which have been a challenge for Maryland for many decades.”

The General Assembly passed a law this year to create a work group tasked with studying the use of hospitals and hotels. The group’s recommendations were due Wednesday, but they will not be delivered because the group’s first meeting is scheduled for Thursday.

Leslie Seid Margolis, an attorney with Disability Rights Maryland, which is also suing the state over its foster care system, is a member of the work group who said she was skeptical the body would have much impact.

“I wish I could say I were optimistic,” Margolis said. “The work group will come up with recommendations, and even if the recommendations are great recommendations, they have to be adopted and implemented. And that’s a big if.”