What happened to Dr Sally Smith after ‘Take Care Of Maya’?

4 July, 2023

Maya Kowalski

Take Care Of Maya has become one of the most talked-about documentaries of the year.

Directed by Henry Roosevelt, the Netflix documentary follows the story of Maya Kowalski who, after being admitted to hospital with crippling stomach pain in 2016, was separated from her parents and left trapped within a healthcare system which tore her family apart.

A synopsis reads: “As the medical team tried to understand her rare illness, they began to question the basic truths that bound the Kowalskis together. Suddenly, Maya was in state custody – despite two parents who were desperate to bring their daughter home.

“The story of the Kowalski family – as told in their own words – will change the way you look at children’s healthcare forever.”

Who is Dr Sally Smith?

After Maya, aged 10, was rushed to Johns Hopkins Children’s Hospital in 2016, the medical staff consulted Dr Sally Smith, a doctor from child protective services, following concerns about Maya’s CRPS diagnosis and ketamine treatment. Smith then filed a report which accused Maya’s mum Beata of child abuse, citing Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy, a mental disorder in which a caregiver fakes or causes symptoms to make a child look sick.

Maya was placed in state custody and separated from her parents as an investigation into the allegation took place. Beata was later determined to not have an illness, but died by suicide 87 days after she was separated from her daughter.

As we see later in the documentary, other families beyond the Kowalskis have been impacted by Smith’s incorrect allegations of child abuse. In total, there have been at least 12 documented cases in which Smith identified abuse only for the children to be returned to their parents, charges dropped, or where the Department of Children and Families (DCF) reversed its separation order.

Where is Dr Sally Smith now?

In the closing scenes of Take Care Of Maya, it’s noted that in December 2021, Smith and her employer, Suncoast Advocacy Services, settled their portion of the lawsuit with the Kowalskis.

Smith declined to be filmed for the documentary and retired from her position last year. Despite this, however, she is still listed as an independent practitioner with Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital and the Bayfront Medical Center.

Speaking to The Cut last year, Smith defended her evaluations, saying: “I am not a horrible person whose goal in life is to disrupt families. I have spent my adult life attempting to serve children in my community to ameliorate conditions of abuse and neglect. I wish our society did more to help struggling families to provide safe, nurturing homes to their children. I’m not a big proponent of punitive approaches for such families contrary to media portrayals about me.”

In response to the 12 documented cases where her evaluations have been overturned, Smith said this was “a pretty small percentage” next to the estimated 3000 cases she’s tackled. “My job is not to make mistakes. To my knowledge, I don’t have any cases where I’ve made an incorrect conclusion.

“We have children that come to see us that have less serious injuries, where a recommendation is made for a child to be removed for their safety. And the next day, the judge declines that request. Just because they determine they’re not going to proceed with criminal charges doesn’t mean that there wasn’t child abuse or that I quote-unquote made a mistake.”