Analysts urge pause in expansion of Maryland service-year program; agency defends governor’s targets

Jacob Cash, a fiscal analyst from the Department of Legislative Services, told the Education, Business and Administration Subcommittee that the Department of Service and Civic Innovation’s (DSCI) FY27 allowance is presented at roughly $70 million but includes double‑counted special funds and a proposed $15 million net increase. Cash recommended removing $8.5 million in general‑fund Maryland Core grant growth, $4.4 million in special funds, and $1.0 million for 10 new positions, and he urged a one‑year delay in growth that would reduce participation targets in the governor’s budget.

The nut of DLS’s recommendation is that DSCI has not met initial participation goals. Cash said class 3 had 588 matches against an 850 goal and that DSCI reached about 758 participants by 2025—roughly 90% of the target—so DLS advised freezing planned growth to allow additional study of enrollment processes and administrative capacity.

Acting Secretary Johnny Dorsey rebutted that the governor’s allowance strikes the right balance. Dorsey said the program now has 710 alumni and emphasized completion rates (class 1: 83.6%; class 2: 80.5%) and credential outcomes, including Department of Labor‑registered apprenticeship credentials earned by program participants. “We are ready to go to the scale intended in the governor’s budget,” Dorsey said, adding that reaching the governor’s target matters “for the young people who serve, for the communities they assist, and for the entire state.”

Deputy Secretary Sarah Flaming addressed DLS’s cost‑sharing concerns and outlined the department’s tiered employer contribution model. Flaming said host sites in class 3 achieved a blended average employer cost share of 33.8% (DSCI’s target blended share is 33%), with partner contributions ranging from 20% to 100% depending on organization size. She described a strategic pivot toward higher‑capacity partners (school districts, hospital systems, state agencies) as a primary tactic to increase employer contributions and meet participation targets.

A senator on the panel pressed what he described as the program’s “wage subsidy” risk: large subsidies can limit scale and create placements that are not responsive to genuine employer demand. Dorsey acknowledged the risk and detailed efforts to align placements with billable community‑health and workforce models to improve sustainability. “We want to build a sustainable model as we scale,” he said.

Several witnesses and alumni testified in support of continued investment. Kyle Lehrman, chair of the Maryland State Service Commission, urged continued state funding and cited partner organizations in multiple counties that rely on program capacity. Tom Nee, an inaugural Maryland Core alum placed in the Anne Arundel County executive’s office, described DSCI training that led to a full‑time hire; Shadera Harley, a graduate placed at Bowie State University, said the program’s structured training and a completion award enabled her to pursue graduate study.

DSCI and DLS also debated evaluation timing. Flaming noted the Serve Act (chapter 99 of 2023) requires DSCI to procure an independent evaluator by June 1, 2027, with findings due July 1, 2028, and a public dashboard by Oct. 1, 2028; she said DSCI has contracted the University of Maryland Do Good Institute and is producing process and impact evaluations ahead of the statutory deadlines.

What happens next: DLS’s funding recommendations and the BRFAA language that reduces participation targets are before the legislature; DSCI asked lawmakers to retain the governor’s allowance and staffing to pursue the larger enrollment goal. The committee recessed for legislative votes and will take the bill and budget language up in follow‑on session work and markup.