Paula Smith, who attended the meeting with her daughter Emilee, said the MCBDDS was crucial to helping Emilee obtain a job and even make friends.
“We need these services,” she said. “And I think (Emilee’s) a beautiful equivalent of what this program and these services have offered from birth on up, and why it’s important.”
Credit: Jim Noelker
Credit: Jim Noelker
The MCBDDS recently announced a proposal to cut $8.9 million in programming and staffing costs in order to balance its 2025 budget. Leaders of the board cited an increase in both clients served and the cost of delivering services as reasons for the shortfall.
Programs that would be at risk of cuts would be those that are not mandated by the state. This includes the recreational program, the family support services program, the mental health support and services program and more.
These programs may not be required by the state, but they give people with developmental disabilities needed resources, said Jennifer Corcoran.
Corcoran attended the meeting with her son, Matthew. Matthew requires total care and uses a wheelchair. The MCBDDS programs helped her family plan and prepare ways to best support Matthew.
“This extra support has helped Matthew get to where he is today,” Corcoran said.
Corcoran said that MCBDDS programming serves not only people with developmental disabilities, but also the loved ones who often are their caregivers.
“Respite is needed,” she said. “Aging caregivers also need a break.”
The Montgomery County commission last week approved $5 million from the Human Services Levy for MCBDDS. This levy also funds agencies like the Montgomery County Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services (ADAMHS) and the county health department, among others.
“Think of it as kind of a landing pad,” said commission President Debbie Lieberman on Tuesday. “We know that fiscal change will have to happen as we ensure as a community, these are very important services.”
Previously, the Montgomery County commission awarded $17 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to the MCBDDS after it declared a fiscal emergency in 2023.
Parents at the meeting said the one-time funding helped the MCBDDS, but feel more long-term solutions are needed. Corcoran said more sustainable funding sources should be located for the MCBDDS.
“Funding needs to be given to the board. They have to cut $8.9 million. $5 million was restored. We need the other $3 million restored,” said Corcoran. “And then we need to look at what’s the long-term solution here. We need to look at our business model, and maybe the county board needs to run its own levy. We don’t want to be here again in another year or two.”
Lieberman said the commission has voiced support for the MCBDDS if it wants to pursue additional levy dollars. The commission president also said community partners could help provide programming that’s not mandated by the state. She encouraged parents to also engage with state leaders to see what resources may be available.
“We hear you, and let’s figure this out together,” she said.
Dr. Pamela Combs, superintendent of the MCBDDS, said her board has been asking county administration to allow it to pursue a Developmental Disabilities-specific levy since 2019.
“Instead, the county administration chose to provide us with the one-time funding we needed to sustain our current services. That support continued until this budget cycle (2025),” Combs said.
“We look forward to working with the commissioners on addressing our Human Services Levy allocations, as well as revisiting our 1977 levy, which has been tabled for nearly 50 years, to ensure Montgomery County’s citizens continue to receive the services they have received for decades, and are served in the same fashion, with the same quality of care, that other urban counties with the same level of need are able to provide their citizens.”
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