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.

Established in 2011, CEC is a combination of five Regional Services Centers, the Commission for Women, and the Office of Community Partnerships, which includes the Gilchrist Center, Volunteer Center, and Translations Unit, with each office/function having its own focus and expertise. The CEC shares administrative staff to support the administrative functions of the cluster.

Budget Overview

The total approved FY25 Operating Budget for the Community Engagement Cluster is $10,072,919, an increase of $1,330,006 or 15.21 percent from the FY24 Approved Budget of $8,742,913. Personnel Costs comprise 68.83 percent of the budget for 37 full-time position(s) and 21 part-time position(s), and a total of 47.25 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 31.17 percent of the FY25 budget.

County Priority Outcomes

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

• Thriving Youth and Families
• An Affordable, Welcoming County for a Lifetime
• Effective, Sustainable Government

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 FY24 estimates reflect funding based on the FY24 approved budget. The FY25 and FY26 figures are performance targets based on the FY25 approved budget and funding for comparable service levels in FY26.

Initiatives

• Assist departments in developing and implementing language access plans to provide high-quality services to the County's multicultural and multilingual communities. Assistance will include developing materials in simplified language and providing training to front-line staff regarding interpretation and translation standards.

• Increase engagement with multilingual communities through community forums and meetings, and social media platforms in languages other than English.

• Implement a robust legal immigration service referral and data collection system maintained by the Gilchrist Immigrant Resource Center.
  

Program Descriptions

  Administration

The Administration Unit of the Community Engagement Cluster oversees the daily operations, administrative functions, and policies related to various areas, including budget, procurement, financial management, contract/grant management, human resources, information technology, office space coordination, fleet management, and record management for the CEC offices and the four Urban Districts....

  Community Partnership

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

  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. In addition, the Commission is responsible for...

  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 multiple locations throughout the County that prepare residents to contribute to our economy and our community....