Montgomery County committees unanimously recommend $332,000 supplemental for Care for Kids program

A joint session of the Montgomery County Council committees on Government Operations & Fiscal Policy and Health and Human Services on Oct. 12 recommended a supplemental appropriation of $332,000 to the FY25 operating budget for the county’s Care for Kids program, and supported a Section G noncompetitive contract designation for the Primary Care Coalition.

The supplemental, introduced at the start of the joint hearing, is intended to cover direct medical services for the Care for Kids program, including primary care, behavioral health, specialty dental and pharmacy services. "This supplemental is supporting the Care for Kids program. It will support direct medical services and primary care, behavioral health, specialty dental, and pharmacy services," said Ms. Clemens Johnson, Department of Health and Human Services, while walking committee members through the packet.

The program, Ms. Clemens Johnson noted, began in 1992 and has been operating roughly 32 years. Enrollment has grown substantially in recent years: nearly 11,000 children were served in FY24 and enrollment has roughly doubled over the past five years. The department reported that enrollment increased by approximately 38 percent (about 3,000 children) over the past three years and that more than half of enrolled families have incomes at or below 100 percent of the federal poverty level.

Ms. Clemens Johnson also told members the program has not received added funding since FY22 and that a claims process identified a FY24 shortfall of $335,000. The department continued services while pursuing claims after concluding a timely supplemental could not be enacted during Q3 of FY24.

"The grantee has been working within its current budget and absorbing those children," Ms. Clemens Johnson said. She said invoices and claims timing complicated the apparent budget picture and that the department is monitoring monthly utilization and claims submissions to improve projections.

Committee members and leaders expressed broad support and concern about sustainability. "The Care for Kids program is, I think, one of the most important initiatives that the county has initiated in the last 32 years," said Chair Albernatz, chair of the Health and Human Services committee, who moved that the committee support the appropriation. Council members echoed the program’s public-health importance and urged that the FY26 budget address rising enrollment so the county would not rely on midyear supplementals.

Members asked about drivers of increased enrollment. Ms. Clemens Johnson said much of the recent growth is driven by children arriving in Montgomery County, including some designated as unaccompanied minors.

After discussion, members voted to recommend Supplemental Appropriation 25-34 to the full council. The committees’ recommendation was recorded as unanimous in the transcript; exact roll-call counts were not specified.

The committees directed staff to return budget and enrollment data as the department updates monthly utilization and claims projections, and members said they expect the executive’s FY26 budget submission to reflect the program’s higher enrollment if additional funding is required.

The recommendation moves to the full County Council for final action.