Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Delegate Edelson seeks statewide expansion of Baltimore first-responder childcare pilot
Loading...
Summary
Delegate Mark Edelson told the Ways and Means Committee HB 12-45 would extend a Baltimore pilot that provides childcare navigation and monthly allowances to first responders, funding allowances for 400 families with a $1.2 million pool split between state and city. He cited pilot metrics showing high satisfaction and retention effects.
Delegate Mark Edelson asked the Ways and Means Committee for a favorable report on House Bill 12-45, which would expand a Baltimore City pilot that provides childcare navigation services and monthly allowances tailored to shift work for police officers to include firefighters, paramedics and other first responders.
"First responders protect our communities 24 hours a day, 7 days a week," Edelson said in his presentation, noting that many childcare options do not match overnight or rotating schedules and that the program helps workers remain on the job.
Edelson described the pilot’s results out of Baltimore: 94 families received direct childcare allowances, 417 additional employees accessed navigation supports, and more than 511 Baltimore Police Department employees used the program in some capacity. He said a recent survey showed 52 percent of participants would have been likely or very likely to leave the department without the allowance, and that among officers with less than three years’ service the number rose to 100 percent.
Under the bill, the program would support 400 families annually — 200 from the Baltimore Police Department and 200 from the fire department and emergency medical services — with an allowance of up to $250 per month per child and continued access to provider navigation and a vetted network of providers available for nontraditional hours. Edelson said the childcare allowance pool would be $1,200,000 split equally between Maryland and the city of Baltimore, with administrative costs estimated at $240,000.
Committee members did not ask follow-up questions after Edelson’s presentation. Chair Delegate Janelle Wilkins closed the hearing on HB 12-45 and moved the committee to the next agenda item.
The committee did not take a vote at the hearing; the bill remains at the committee-review stage.
