Mayor's Office of Children and Family Success lays out FY26 budget priorities, flags grant shortfalls

The mayor's Office of Children and Family Success (MOCFS) told the Baltimore City Council Budget & Appropriations Committee on the agency's FY26 spending plan and program work, citing continued rental and utility assistance and a shift of some internal funding to cover staffing at community action partnership (CAP) centers.

"Over the past year, the mayor's office of children and family success has remained unwavering in our mission to uplift and support Baltimore families," said Dr. Brooks, executive director of the mayor's Office of Children and Family Success. She told the committee the office provided emergency rental assistance to more than 1,100 households this year — including 673 families through the agency's emergency rental assistance portal — and 28 families received security-deposit support.

The agency also reported energy and water assistance metrics. "We have delivered relief for over 26,000 residents receiving energy assistance in more than 5,100 households," Dr. Brooks said. She added the Office of Home Energy Assistance Program (OHEAP) served over 3,700 families and recently moved to a paperless process to speed service.

The presentation covered early-childhood and youth supports. Shannon Burrows Campbell, director of Baltimore City Head Start, described efforts to update safety protocols and expand wraparound family services. The office said a new "safe passage" initiative reached more than 10,000 students across 12 schools this school year in partnership with Baltimore City Public Schools and the Baltimore Police Department.

On staffing and local funding moves, Dr. Brooks said the agency transferred roughly $250,000 from the general fund to support CAP-center staffing and budgeted about $90,000 for position reclassifications. She told the committee the agency anticipates an overall $4,100,000 decrease in state and federal funds for services in FY26 and is abolishing 24 vacant grant positions to preserve core services.

Program managers described how the programs operate and options to respond to flat or reduced grant awards. Roger Moore, director of the city's home-energy program, said the agency has returned to pre-pandemic funding levels and is working with the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development and utility partners on energy-efficiency education. "We did return back to pre pandemic funding," Moore said, noting rising utility costs remain a local stressor.

Penny Lewis, manager of the Water for All program, told the committee the program now processes applications both online and in person and that renewals have been rising: "Three years ago, the percentage of people renewing in the Water for All program was 3 percent. Two years ago it was 13. And presently, year to date, we are at 25 percent." Lewis said most credits are applied directly to water accounts through the city's internal system.

Angela Whitaker, director of Community Action Partnerships, described a shift away from relying solely on brick-and-mortar CAP centers toward outreach "road trips" and partnerships with schools, churches and community events to meet residents where they are. Council members flagged gaps in geographic coverage; one councilmember said Southwest Baltimore lacks a CAP center and pressed the agency to propose a plan for more on-site services or mobile operations.

Committee members praised the agencies' collaborative work and asked for follow-up information, including legal or budget documents tied to funding changes and the agency's grant-application status for state programs such as a DHCD community school rental-assistance grant and an aging-in-place grant for digital-literacy services.

The committee recessed after the presentation and scheduled related budget hearings for other agencies later in the week.