Commission on Aging urges emergency respite funding, village grants and nursing‑home inspection support

At the Health and Human Services Committee briefing, Linda Brogofsky, co‑chair of the Commission on Aging, asked Montgomery County to fund an emergency FY26 appropriation to cover an anticipated shortfall in in‑home respite services and to set FY27 budget levels to support program expansion. She said respite demand has outpaced operating budgets, causing contract interruptions and wait lists, and urged funding for in‑home respite delivered by community partners including the Arc of Montgomery.

Brogofsky also requested competitively awarded FY27 grants to establish four new village programs in economically and racially diverse, underserved parts of East County and Up County (including the Ag Reserve and Poolesville). She said villages use a neighbor‑helping‑neighbors model that coordinates volunteers and reduces social isolation but that large geographic areas currently lack access; she told councilmembers that only a small fraction of older residents in Up County are within an existing village catchment.

The commission recommended carving out funding to support the county’s newly restored role in nursing‑home inspections (a change that followed 2025 General Assembly action) so the county can follow up on inspection findings and asked that the Senior Nutrition Program (SNP) receive full funding to meet growing need.

Councilmembers followed up on geography and transportation gaps and discussed anchor organizations that could host village pilots. No formal appropriation was adopted at the briefing; commissioners and staff said they will seek inclusion of line items in the executive branch’s budget submission ahead of the council’s March review.