FC DSS director reports status-quo funding outlook, urges action on respite care funding

Debbie Marini, director of the Frederick County Department of Social Services, told the Social Services Advisory Board on Feb. 26 that the department expects "status quo" funding as the Maryland legislative session advances and that staff are reviewing cases of children who have been in care for extended periods with the intent of pursuing permanency.

Marini presented the department's Q2 Dashboard of Performance, Quality and Improvement indicators and said the board will receive a written summary. She also said two favorable bills affecting the department were moving through the Maryland Legislature; she did not provide bill numbers in the meeting minutes.

Marini described the ENOUGH planning process, saying the department is in a community-engagement phase to shape planning priorities. On staffing and recruitment, the board heard that a committee developed a boilerplate outreach letter to organizations active with at-risk populations and has begun distributing it; the committee will expand its outreach list.

On fundraising, board members were told several grant applications supporting respite care have been submitted and that another recurring state association grant program referenced in the minutes will reopen its application period, with an application due by the end of next week (the meeting materials used two different acronyms for that program; the record does not provide a definitive official name). Ed Hinde said the committee met with Donna Heller to coordinate calendars and activities tied to grant and fundraising work.

Casey Day, chairing Public Policy and Advocacy updates, said the committee drafted a letter requesting county funding for respite care to be sent to the County Executive and the County Council. Day also described plans for a workshop to raise awareness of respite-care shortages and to work with advocates and experts on potential solutions; the minutes reference "December 5" as the planned date but do not specify the year.

"At this time, we are expecting status quo funding," Marini said at the meeting. Board members did not record specific dollar amounts or vote on funding priorities at this session.

The board was reminded about the MASBB winter meeting on March 1 in Columbia (with a virtual option) and that the board will meet next on Wednesday, March 26 at the Department of Social Services building, 1888 N. Market St., Frederick.