Mission Statement

The Community Engagement Cluster (CEC) builds stronger, informed, and inclusive communities. The Cluster strengthens Montgomery County's commitment to civic engagement and community service by engaging residents, organizations, businesses, and other community groups. The Cluster maximizes communities' assets - time, talents, and other resources - working collaboratively to address and resolve community issues.

The cluster is a combination of the five Regional Services Centers, the Commission for Women, and the Office of Community Partnerships, including the Gilchrist Center and the Volunteer Center, all sharing core administrative support since July 1, 2011. As a cluster, these offices/functions have combined facilities, resources, and support staff while retaining staff expertise and experience, as well as most of the objectives of the separate entities involved.

Budget Overview

The total recommended FY22 Operating Budget for the Community Engagement Cluster is $6,124,668, an increase of $1,816,094 or 42.15 percent from the FY21 Approved Budget of $4,308,574. Personnel Costs comprise 84.10 percent of the budget for 32 full-time position(s) and 20 part-time position(s), and a total of 41.75 FTEs. Total FTEs may include seasonal or temporary positions and may also reflect workforce charged to or from other departments or funds. Operating Expenses account for the remaining 15.90 percent of the FY22 budget.

In FY22, the Office of Community Partnerships will expand as a result of the creation of multilingual and multicultural communications outreach efforts, which includes the creation of a permanent internal Translations unit.

County Priority Outcomes

While this program area supports all eight of the County Result Areas, the following are emphasized:

• A Greener County
• Effective, Sustainable Government
• Thriving Youth and Families

Program Performance Measures

Performance measures for this department are included below (where applicable), with multi-program measures displayed at the front of this section and program-specific measures shown with the relevant program. The FY21 estimates reflect funding based on the FY21 approved budget. The FY22 and FY23 figures are performance targets based on the FY22 recommended budget and funding for comparable service levels in FY23.

Initiatives

• Converting temporary contractual support into two permanent merit positions to enhance programmatic and administrative support to the Cluster.
• Enhancing the County's multilingual and multicultural outreach efforts, expanding on the successful 2020 Census campaign efforts, including the creation of a permanent Translations unit.

Program Descriptions

  Administration

Administrative Management for the Community Engagement Cluster (CEC) handles all aspects of budget, procurement, financial, contracts/grants, personnel, and administrative matters of the CEC units (Regional Services Centers, Commission for Women, Office of Community Partnerships, including the Gilchrist Center and the Volunteer Center). In addition, the responsibilities of this unit include...

  Community Partnership

The Office of Community Partnerships (OCP) is a bridge builder between the County's diverse communities and County government. Due to OCPs deep reach into communities, OCP worked closely with the Regional Service Center Directors to lead the County's 2020 Census Campaign. "Everyone Counts in Montgomery County" was a multifaceted campaign...

  Regional Services Centers

The County has five Regional Services Centers: Bethesda-Chevy Chase, East County, Mid-County, Silver Spring, and Upcounty. The Regional Directors in each of the County's five regions work with their respective regional citizens advisory boards, residents, community groups, businesses, and other public agencies to proactively seek and gather information and assess...

  Commission for Women

The Commission for Women's mission is to identify gender-based inequities in laws, policies, practices and procedures, and to advocate remedies by advising the public and local, state, and federal agencies on issues of concern to women, including organizing events relating to these issues....

  Gilchrist Center

The Charles W. Gilchrist Center for Cultural Diversity is the County's Welcome Center for newcomers and builds the network of immigrant service providers in the County. The Center offers various immigrant integration services at various locations throughout the County that prepare residents to contribute to our economy and our community....