Governor’s Office for Children seeks expanded Enough grants; analysts propose reductions and timeline for reporting

Madeline Miller, a budget analyst with the Department of Legislative Services (DLS), presented the DLS budget analysis for the Governor’s Office for Children (GOC) and outlined the administration’s Enough initiative funding and reporting schedule.

DLS said the GOC’s fiscal 2026 allowance rises to about $105.9 million, an increase driven primarily by Enough program grant spending. The DLS presentation noted the statute that created the Enough grant fund (Chapter 408 of 2024) mandated at least $15 million in general‑fund payments into the special fund for fiscal 2026; the working appropriation reflected larger general‑fund and special‑fund authorizations. DLS recommended reducing a $22.9 million general‑fund appropriation for Enough grant account authority and adjusting special‑fund authorizations to meet only the mandated level in FY2026.

“The allowance includes approximately $75,800,000 for Enough grants, other non‑personnel Enough program expenditures and Enough capacity building grants to local management boards,” the analyst said, adding that roughly half of that sum is proposed as general funds and half as special funds.

GOC Special Secretary Carmel Martin defended the larger appropriation and the program design, saying the statute and the program’s three‑track grant model require stepped funding as communities move from partnership building to implementation. “The Enough initiative is not just a bill or a program, it is an approach to governing,” Martin said. She testified that GOC selected 27 inaugural grantees that together will serve about 30,000 children living in poverty and will involve nearly 500 organizations and local governments at partnership tables.

DLS highlighted other budget and program details: the fiscal 2026 allowance includes 11 new regular positions (6 to support Enough) and proposed spending for the Children’s Cabinet Interagency Fund (CCIF) and remaining local management board grants. DLS recommended eliminating a $3.5 million general‑fund appropriation for the Baltimore City Children and Youth Fund grant because the mandate that had required the appropriation expired in fiscal 2024; GOC opposed that elimination, saying Baltimore City houses a large share of eligible census tracts and that the grant aligns with Enough priorities.

DLS also described statutory and reporting requirements. Exhibits in the analysis list required outputs through fiscal 2027, including an annual Enough program report, a neighborhood poverty indicators report by October 1, 2025, the state's three‑year plan for children, youth and families by December 1, 2025, and an evaluation of the Enough program by June 1, 2027. DLS said it had held $100,000 in withheld general funds for certain data reporting agencies pending submission of an out‑of‑home placements report and recommended releasing those funds if GOC and the data agencies comply.

Committee members asked several operational questions about how Enough links to existing community needs assessments, community schools, outcomes measurement and timelines. Martin and staff said GOC built a neighborhood‑level data dashboard for each applicant and would require grantees to report on both common statewide metrics and neighborhood‑specific outcome targets; officials said some leading indicators should be reportable within a year of implementation while more distal poverty outcomes will take longer to change.

On a technical point about the out‑of‑home placements report, GOC requested that the one‑day count used for reporting be taken on Oct. 15 instead of Jan. 1 to avoid holiday‑period skew. DLS supported releasing withheld funds if the report is submitted and recommended committee narrative directing GOC to propose measures for the Managing for Results framework by December 1, 2025; GOC agreed to submit proposed MFR goals by that date.

The committee did not take a final funding vote during the hearing; DLS recommendations and GOC responses frame the issues subcommittee members said they will consider as the fiscal process advances.