The residential program serves young women in Maryland’s foster-care system. The rising calls have intensified a dispute among deputies, the provider and state child-welfare officials over resident safety, placement decisions and how best to support young people who leave without authorization.

Of the Sheriff’s Office calls logged through Oct. 17, 43 were classified as “missing child” and 62 as “missing child returned.” The agency said 13 residents accounted for 136 missing-person-related calls this year, about 54% of all calls associated with the facility.

Captain David McDougall of the Harford County Sheriff’s Office said some young women who leave travel to Baltimore City, Baltimore County and other areas along the Interstate 95 corridor. The department’s analysis also identified destinations including Anne Arundel and Howard counties and Virginia.

McDougall said some incidents have led to documented investigations into allegations of child sex trafficking. Because alleged activity may occur outside Harford County, investigators have coordinated with other jurisdictions and federal agencies, he said.

Captain Mark Fox, who oversees the Sheriff’s Office Community Services Division, said young people who have experienced unstable homes, trauma and disrupted foster placements can be particularly vulnerable to exploitation. The Sheriff’s Office has raised concerns about whether the facility receives complete information during the state’s placement screening process and whether some residents need services beyond what the program can provide.

Arrow Child and Family Ministries acknowledged the rise in calls but said a change in reporting practice has contributed to the numbers. Jennifer McLaughlin-Renault, the organization’s senior vice president of Maryland programs, said state rules allow up to an hour before police must be notified when a resident leaves without authorization. Arrow now calls immediately, rather than waiting to see whether a young person returns, she said.

McLaughlin-Renault said staff develop individual safety plans, adjust programming and provide therapy. When residents return, staff conduct medical reviews and arrange therapist assessments; supervision can be increased, including one-to-one support, depending on the circumstances. She said a small group of residents has been responsible for repeated departures, and that Arrow believes the young women it admits are appropriate for its program.

The facility is licensed for 26 residents and has a state contract for 23. It typically serves about 20 or 21 young women at a time and has roughly 40 employees across shifts, McLaughlin-Renault said. Arrow served 47 young women during the last fiscal year.

Maryland State Police records show 11 calls for service connected to the facility in 2024, 10 in 2025 and 25 from Jan. 1 through Aug. 31, 2026. The agency said troopers assigned to the Bel Air barrack work with the Department of Human Services to prioritize children’s safety and help locate missing youth.

The Sheriff’s Office said it filed three complaints involving Arrow: one in April 2025 and two in July and August 2026. McDougall said state officials met with the department and reviewed the facility’s compliance, and told deputies they found no licensing violations. Maryland’s Department of Human Services did not provide specific findings on the three complaints during an interview, according to its executive director, Alger Studstill.

Studstill said the department’s Office of Licensing and Monitoring investigates complaints against licensed providers and can impose sanctions when it finds violations. He confirmed that state leaders met with law enforcement and Arrow representatives. The state has not ended Arrow’s contract.

Studstill said repeated departures are a safety concern because of the risks to young people, but do not by themselves prove a provider is an inappropriate placement. He said residents cannot be treated as criminals or detained simply because they leave a nonsecure facility. The state, he said, must balance safety with young people’s rights while expanding services for complex behavioral-health and mental-health needs.

DHS has updated procedures for missing children, Studstill said, including prompt notification to law enforcement, a youth services coordinator to track cases and multidisciplinary reviews of individual circumstances. The department is also considering a statewide task force on missing and runaway youth.

The Sheriff’s Office said repeated calls require deputies to search nearby areas, review surveillance footage and conduct follow-up investigations. McDougall said a missing-child report can tie up all three deputies assigned to the area for an extended period. He said the department has worked with Arrow on staff training and on quickly sharing identifying information, but worries that one departure could end in serious harm.

Arrow said it accepts young women with histories of human trafficking and sexual exploitation and coordinates with law enforcement and an FBI task force when a resident has a known trafficking history. McLaughlin-Renault declined to discuss individual cases, citing residents’ privacy.

Both Arrow and the state defended the existing framework. McLaughlin-Renault said additional rules could limit flexibility in responding to residents’ needs. Studstill said policy changes alone may not change behavior and called for stronger mental-health services and support for families. Fox, meanwhile, urged the state to reconsider placements when particular residents repeatedly leave, while acknowledging that Maryland has limited alternatives for some young people with significant treatment needs.