On February 28, 2024, Executive Director Michael Sanderson testified before the House Appropriations Committee in support of HB 694 – Governor’s Office for Children – Engaging Neighborhoods, Organizations, Unions, Governments, and Households (ENOUGH) Grant Program (ENOUGH Act of 2024). This bill re-establishes the Governor’s Office for Children as well as the grant fund to advance place-based strategies for combating child poverty across Maryland.
Local government agencies are an integral partner in working to end child poverty across the state. Schools, local management boards, health departments, social service teams, and law enforcement agencies all play a crucial role in combating food, housing, and financial insecurity for residents, particularly children and their families. Hunger, homelessness, and lack of healthcare access are adversely correlated with educational outcomes, job readiness, and economic opportunity.
Reestablishing the Governor’s Office for Children begets a universal coordinating strategy that will serve as the pivot point for funding across multiple agencies throughout the state. This allows for a holistic, organized approach within State government and across public and private sectors at the federal, state, and local levels. Provisions of the bill enable local agencies to receive funding as well as perform a variety of functions within the matrix of programs across the child service continuum.
HB 694’s cross-file, SB 482, was heard on March 1, 2024 in the Senate Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee. Dominic Butchko testified in support of this bill.
SB 482 was heard in the opposite chamber, the House Appropriations Committee, on March 26. MACo submitted testimony in support.
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