Amid state lawmakers’ growing concerns about the accuracy of child welfare data, the Department of Human Services for the first time endorsed a bill that would boost transparency following some deaths from alleged abuse or neglect.

House Bill 1209, authored by Dels. Susan McComas and Robin Grammer Jr., would require officials to promptly release requested information about children in foster care who die from suspected maltreatment. Compared to other states, Maryland stands apart in its lack of transparency after these deaths.

The agency’s new position was revealed Thursday in Annapolis during a meeting of the House Judiciary Committee.

In a letter submitted to committee Chair Luke Clippinger, a Democrat from Baltimore, an agency official wrote that HB 1209 aligns well with the Moore administration’s goal to prioritize transparency, honesty and openness. Last year, another agency official expressed concern about a similar bill, writing that it was crucial to limit the information released following a child’s death.

This turnaround comes after The Banner in December questioned the growing number of child maltreatment fatalities in Maryland. The agency responded by saying its own data was inaccurate. Independent legislative analysts recently recommended withholding money from the department until it can fix a slew of problems with its data.

Del. Lauren Arikan, a Republican from Harford County, cited The Banner’s recent coverage and said Thursday the proposed legislation could help the public assess what appear to be “catastrophic” problems within the Department of Human Services.

The agency’s new, supportive stance on the bill surprised Clippinger, who criticized the Moore administration for failing to send a representative to the hearing to answer committee members’ questions.

“I am somewhat flummoxed by the department’s maybe cavalier attitude to what’s going on in this area of the law,” he said. “I am very disappointed that there’s no one here today to testify, either for or against this bill.”

A spokesperson for the department declined to comment.

This is the fourth year in a row McComas, a Republican from Harford County, has introduced legislation that seeks to expand access to records following a death from alleged child abuse or neglect in Maryland. Last year, a version of the bill cross-filed in the General Assembly’s upper house, and carried by Sen. Mary-Dulany James, a Democrat from Harford County, cleared the Senate with unanimous support.

But that measure, Senate Bill 89, never got a vote in Clippinger’s House Judiciary Committee. He said he did not allow the panel to consider the bill, in part because he took seriously the concerns the department has since abandoned. It’s unclear whether HB 1209 will get a vote or advance this session.

For many years, information about victims of reported child abuse in Maryland was completely confidential.

Then, in the late 1990s, state lawmakers expanded access after Pikesville third grader Rita Fisher died of torture and abuse at the hands of her family. Social workers had failed to protect her despite repeated warning signs.

Now, when a child dies, state law requires officials to release some information upon request, such as dates of reports of abuse, findings by investigators and services provided to the person accused of abuse. But prosecutors can block the records’ release if they think disclosure could jeopardize a criminal case against an accused person. They almost always do.

Officials have so far refused to release records in the death of Zona Byrd, a 5-year-old girl who starved to death in Baltimore last October. She should have been in kindergarten, yet when police discovered her body, she was wearing toddler-size clothing that hung from her skeletal frame. Her parents are facing first-degree murder and child abuse charges.

Baltimore State’s Attorney Ivan Bates will not allow the state to share Zona’s child welfare records because he said doing so might harm his case against Byrd’s parents.

McComas said greater transparency might help prevent the next tragedy.

“We’ve got to do something,” she said. “We’ve got to get some blood and some sweat into this thing.”

The Maryland States Attorneys’ Association said HB 1209 strikes the appropriate balance between the government’s obligation to inform the public and its members’ duty to ensure people accused of child abuse or neglect get a fair trial. The influential interest group opposed earlier iterations of the measure with a wider scope.

This latest version of the proposed legislation requires state’s attorneys to respond to requests for records within 30 days of the death of a child in state custody where abuse or neglect was suspected. It also allows state’s attorneys to redact any portion of the record that, if made public, would hinder their ability to prosecute a criminal case connected to the incident.

Speaking at the hearing, Clippinger wondered if the bill was too narrow, noting that it only requires the release of records when a child who had been in state custody dies from abuse or neglect. McComas responded, saying Maryland must start somewhere.

“Whether it’s a little step or a big step, I don’t really care,” she said. “I think we need to do something. And I think we could start with just this.”