Governor’s Office for Children defends ENOUGH initiative as DLS urges restraint; grantees deliver public testimony

The Governor’s Office for Children (GOC) defended its ENOUGH place-based anti-poverty initiative before the Education and Economic Development Subcommittee after Department of Legislative Services analysts recommended constraining some fiscal 2027 appropriations because of fiscal pressures and special-fund accounting concerns.

Madeline Miller, the DLS analyst, explained the governor’s fiscal 2027 allowance for the GOC totals $92.9 million but noted that, after excluding a double-counting effect in the ENOUGH special fund, the agency would have approximately $60.9 million available to spend. DLS recommended reducing the general fund increase for the ENOUGH grants by $15 million in light of the state’s fiscal condition and asked GOC to clarify how much additional state-agency funding ENOUGH communities had received in the program’s first year.

Carmel Martin, the special secretary for the Governor’s Office for Children, defended ENOUGH as a targeted, evidence-informed strategy that leverages state and philanthropic funds and builds local partnership tables. Martin said ENOUGH grantees implemented 81 evidence-based programs, tracked 244 progress measures, and that the program’s first-year design prioritized partnership and planning. She disputed DLS’s recommendation to delete a $2 million appropriation for the Baltimore City Children and Youth Fund and said ENOUGH has delivered tangible local results — for example, helping a Hagerstown mother avoid eviction and enabling a childcare center to reopen after philanthropic support closed a renovation gap.

Committee members asked GOC to clarify eligibility rules (based on recent census and school-catchment data), explain the use of 22-month grant award periods, and describe coordination with other agencies (community schools, local management boards, Department of Housing and Community Development, and transportation). GOC said it would publish the ENOUGH eligibility map by June and that it uses local management boards and interagency “tiger teams” to bring transportation, housing, and workforce agencies into local problem-solving.

Public testimony featured more than a dozen community leaders and grantee organizations from Park Heights, Sandtown–Harlem Park, Cherry Hill, Brooklyn Park and other jurisdictions. Testimony documented activities funded through ENOUGH: expanded tutoring, workforce and apprenticeship programs, home visiting for new parents, transportation solutions tied to chronic absenteeism, food distribution and capacity-building for local nonprofits. Community representatives asked the subcommittee to fully fund or increase ENOUGH appropriations and to protect funding for the local management boards that coordinate state and community resources.

Next steps: DLS recommended limiting ENOUGH’s fiscal 27 increase pending continued evaluation and asked for an evaluation due to the legislature by 06/01/2027; GOC said the evaluation and the program’s tracking metrics will be forthcoming. Committee members requested additional details from DLS and GOC on the special fund accounting, award periods, and projected expansion plans.

Ending: The public testimony session closed with appeals from grantees for sustained investment; the subcommittee adjourned without a formal vote on ENOUGH funding during this hearing.