Maryland Family Law Section 5-544

      The goals of each local board are:

            (1)      subject to § 5-545 of this subtitle, as to minor children who have resided in out-of-home placement under the jurisdiction of the local department for more than 6 months:

                  (i)      to review the cases every 6 months to determine what efforts have been made to acquire permanent and stable placement for these children; and

                  (ii)      to encourage and facilitate the return of each of these children to the child's parent or, on determining that return of a child to the child's parent is not in the best interests of the child, to encourage placement of the child with the child's relatives, provided the placement has legal status, or if neither measure is in the best interests of the child, to encourage efforts at adoption of the child;

            (2)      to encourage all possible efforts for permanent foster care or kinship care or guardianship for minor children for whom return to a parent or adoption is not feasible; and

            (3)      to report to the juvenile court on the status of efforts to secure permanent homes for minor children.