For Alger Studstill Jr., executive director of the Social Services Administration at the Maryland Department of Human Services, improving systems and outcomes for young people involved in Maryland’s child welfare system is business, but it’s also personal.
Studstill’s education and training in business administration enable him to look for innovative and unconventional ways to solve complex problems. His personal experience with family and kinship care motivates him to cultivate community and connection for caregivers and young people alike.
“Maryland has one of the lowest foster care entry rates, but once you’re in, you don’t leave,” says Studstill. “I had to ask, what are we doing that’s causing relatives and kin to avoid being part of the system?”
What he found were outdated, burdensome requirements and barriers — like a rule against bunk beds — that made it hard for willing family members to become licensed caregivers. While he works to change those rules, Studstill sees the Fellowship as a way to enhance prevention efforts so families never face separation.
“I want to become a better leader in this space,” he says. “I’ve only known state government; the Fellowship connects me with the nonprofit side, with philanthropy, with housing and education, to see how we can all lean in to affect children and families together.”