Joint committee backs executive—ranch plan to sustain early childhood services amid federal, state uncertainty

Montgomery County—ouncil—ducation and health committees on Friday advanced the county executive—ranch—Y26 operating budget recommendations to sustain early care and education programs while acknowledging state and federal funding risks.

The joint Education and Culture and Health and Human Services committee agreed "without objection" to the executive's recommended enhancements intended to maintain subsidized childcare seats and related supports, staff said. The executive recommended roughly $4.1 million in additional NDA resources for early care and education and identified programmatic staffing changes to align grant and general-fund financing.

"Childcare opportunities are hard to find and they are expensive," Jennifer Arnaiss, senior administrator for early childhood services at the Department of Health and Human Services, told the committee. She summarized county data showing about 57,000 children under age 5 in the county, roughly 32,000 eligible for subsidized childcare and about 11,000 currently receiving subsidized seats, leaving an estimated 20,000 eligible but not served.

Arnaiss also reported program and budget figures for FY25: an FY25 approved program budget of about $13.4 million for specific services and a non-departmental account (NDA) appropriation of approximately $20.3 million; roughly $10.2 million had been spent as of the most recent reporting period and $5.9 million was encumbered.

Staff framed the FY26 request as aimed at protecting ongoing services amid possible reductions in federal Head Start funding and a recently announced temporary enrollment freeze in Maryland's childcare scholarship program. "This freeze increases the urgency for us to maintain strong local investments," committee staff said during the presentation.

From a fiscal-management perspective, Deborah Lambert of the Office of Management and Budget cautioned that "$20,000,000 sounds like an awful lot of money and it is to spend in one year," noting much of the FY25 spending was one-time and that the executive preferred protecting ongoing services such as the Working Parents Assistance (WPA) program and EquiCare rather than reducing them.

Children—Opportunity Alliance (COA), the county's designated early care and education coordinating entity, presented a public data dashboard and a fiscal analysis showing about 33,600 licensed seats in the county and that 70% of those seats are paid at market rate. COA asked the committee to consider a one-time $250,000 enhancement for FY26 to support three items: continued funding for a community engagement liaison (conversion from philanthropy to county funding), a pilot community ambassadors program, and continued support for Montgomery Moving Forward (MMF) advocacy and workforce research.

Sponsors Councilmembers Lukey and Mink explained the request and recommended placing each of the three items on the reconciliation list for full-council consideration given current revenue uncertainty. COA representatives said the liaison would manage family navigation work and that the ambassador pilot would gather community-level information on family preferences and barriers to using formal childcare.

Committee members agreed to place all three COA items on the reconciliation list and noted the liaison as the highest priority if choices must be made. The committee also accepted an executive amendment to the CIP that adds $850,000 in restricted state aid for childcare playground renovations, accelerating some work planned for later years.

The committee heard additional FY26 technical adjustments: a planned shift of five early childhood services positions from the NDA to the consolidated local implementation grant (CLIG) so positions remain funded but under grant authority, and small general-fund augmentations to replace reduced grant funding for Maryland Family Network and infant and early childhood mental health grant personnel.

The committee concluded by noting continued federal and state uncertainty and the need to protect local investments. The joint committee will forward its recommendations and the reconciliation list items to the full council for final decisions.

The committee adjourned after accepting the executive's recommendations and the CIP amendment without recorded roll-call votes; members said they would present the joint committee's discussion and priorities when the package is considered by the full council.