Maryland’s Silver Oak Academy Closes on June 30

“Maryland officials are preparing to remove foster children from Silver Oak Academy after the state confirmed for the first time that youth will no longer remain at the troubled Carroll County facility beyond June 30, marking the clearest sign yet that the privately operated program is effectively shutting down.

The Maryland Department of Human Services told Spotlight on Maryland on Tuesday that it has been working since December to relocate children from Silver Oak, a Keymar, Md. residential program operated by Nevada-based Rite of Passage that has come under mounting scrutiny over allegations of violence, runaway incidents, staff misconduct and lax oversight.

DHS and the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services jointly monitor Silver Oak, with staff from both agencies meeting biweekly, conducting site visits, enforcing corrective action plans and addressing youth incident reports, a DHS spokesperson said. DJS will not renew Silver Oak’s license next month.”

“This update follows months of reporting by Spotlight on Maryland documenting more than 100 emergency calls tied to the campus since January 2025, including reports of assaults, arson, runaway juveniles and staff concerns that the young residents were “overtaking the campus.”

Local law enforcement, former employees, lawmakers and residents have increasingly questioned whether the state should continue placing vulnerable foster children there.”

“The development comes days after a 16-year-old foster child who disappeared from Silver Oak earlier this month was found Thursday in Frederick, 14 days after vanishing and 22 miles from the rural campus.

His recovery raised new questions instead of answering them

Rite of Passage told Spotlight last Tuesday that the teen was believed to be with family. Spotlight later learned he was not.

According to sources and records reviewed by Spotlight, the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office fugitive unit recovered the teenager from the home of a former Silver Oak employee in Frederick. The former employee told investigators they picked up the juvenile along a roadside in Boonsboro before taking him to the Frederick home.”

Maryland won’t renew Silver Oak’s license; foster abuse allegations mount

[Fox Baltimore 5/19/26. by Gary Collins]

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