County presents Enough Act plan targeting child poverty pockets in Westminster

Ed Singer, manager of the Carroll County Local Management Board and a former county health officer, told the Westminster Mayor and Common Council on Monday that the Enough Act is a state-led, place-based initiative to end child poverty and the county has asked the LMB to focus on two high-poverty areas, including a census tract that covers parts of Westminster.

Singer said the program — an acronym for Engaging Neighborhoods, Organizations, Unions, Governments and Households — relies on cross-sector partnerships and local input. "The whole goal of this program is to end child poverty," Singer said, adding the LMB is currently acting as a "community quarterback" while county and city officials help identify rooted community partners to lead local action.

The presentation laid out the Enough Act’s priorities: ensuring access to high-quality education and care from birth through career pathways; affordable, high-quality health care including maternal and behavioral health; pathways to family-sustaining work and wealth-building; safe, affordable housing; and thriving commercial and recreational spaces. Singer asked council members for feedback on where the county should concentrate outreach and invited the city and local nonprofits to help design engagement methods, including mapping assets and hosting community meetings.

Singer identified two primary focus areas in Carroll County: Union Bridge and a Westminster census tract. According to the presentation, that Westminster census tract shows a childhood poverty rate of about 28.5 percent. Singer warned that, in the LMB’s on-the-ground experience, drawing neighborhood boundaries strictly by census tracts can undercount contiguous pockets of need and asked council members to mark adjoining streets or neighborhoods they believe should be included.

Singer said more than 80 percent of the children identified in the tract as living in poverty are Hispanic or Latino, a fact he described as a challenge for outreach because of low trust in government among parts of the Latino community. He said the program’s first phase is an asset map and assessment followed by community-engaged planning and then action on prioritized interventions.

Possible interventions discussed included after‑school and internship transportation pilots to connect students to work experiences, and the use of local revenue sources — Singer specifically mentioned the possibility of applying county cannabis revenue to small pilot projects — as well as philanthropic support. He said the county does not currently meet eligibility thresholds for the state’s competitive Enough Act grants, so initial work will emphasize assessments and small-scale, locally funded pilots.

Singer and staff distributed a QR-linked survey and printed maps to solicit council and public input on communities to include, local organizations trusted by residents, possible meeting locations and engagement tactics. "We need your input" Singer told council members, asking them to identify trusted community partners such as the Boys & Girls Club and churches and to help recruit residents for the assessment phase.

Mayor Becker and council members thanked Singer and said they would review the materials and share local knowledge. Singer said county staff would follow up with a report and return to the council with proposed actions after the assessment phase.

The presentation included named LMB staff: Maria Lowry, identified as the local care team coordinator, and Addison Eslinger, identified as the Enough Act coordinator, who will lead community-facing outreach.

Implementation questions that remained open after the presentation included how much funding would be available locally for pilot projects, what state competitive grant thresholds the county would need to meet, and the timetable for moving from assessment to funded action. Singer emphasized the LMB’s intent to move beyond assessment to actionable pilots but cautioned that some funding decisions would require elected officials’ review. He repeatedly asked council members to help identify trusted local organizations to serve as community quarterbacks for neighborhood-level work.

The County presentation concluded with an invitation to council members and residents to complete the survey and to host LMB staff at neighborhood meetings and nonprofit partner gatherings to support outreach and planning.