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WorkSource Montgomery seeks funding to sustain summer stipends and correctional facility staffing
Summary
WorkSource Montgomery requested a $218,000 FY26 increase to replace exhausted federal/ARPA funds and sustain summer stipend opportunities for students plus a full FTE supporting the correctional facility; the committee supported the executive's recommendation and asked for monitoring amid federal funding uncertainty.
WorkSource Montgomery presented highlights from FY25 and sought an FY26 increase of $218,000 to preserve current programming that had been partially subsidized by temporary federal funds.
Anthony Featherstone, executive director, said the request includes $100,000 to sustain the summer stipend program (Summarize) that provides $500 stipends to summer participants and $50,000 to convert a difficult half‑FTE position at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility into a full FTE. WorkSource described FY24 placement metrics (roughly 63% of participants leaving with employment at an average wage reported in packet) and emphasized the surge in demand as displaced federal contractors and workers seek reemployment. The agency explained case‑management and cohort tracking methods (WorkSource follows participants it places for up to 12 months when cohorts are sponsored by the agency).
Councilmembers asked for contingency plans if WIOA/federal funding changes and for more granular outcomes from correctional facility programming; WorkSource said it will model scenarios and that reduced staffing at the correctional facility would reduce the number of people it could serve but that core services would continue.
The committee voted to support the county executive’s proposed increase.
