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Program Description

  General Counsel

This program provides general counsel services to the County, its agencies, and instrumentalities. These general counsel services include providing legal advice to the Executive and Legislative Branches of County government on a wide variety of government operations; drafting and reviewing legislation, contracts, and real estate transactions for legal sufficiency; collecting debts owed to the County; and representing the County before administrative, trial, and appellate tribunals in matters involving child welfare and adult protective services, tax and procurement, labor and personnel, zoning, land use and economic development, and civil enforcement of the County Code.

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Program Contacts

Contact Carolyn Kilgariff of the Office of the County Attorney at 240-777-6766 or Payne Tarkenton of the Office of Management and Budget at 240-777-2758 for more information regarding this department's operating budget.

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Program Performance Measures

Program Performance MeasuresActual FY24Actual FY25Estimated FY26Target FY27Target FY28
Number of new adoption petitions filed2827313131
Number of new termination of parental rights (TPR) petitions filed3324303030
Number of new children in need of assistance (CINA) petitions filed 110897102102102
Number of children in need of assistance (CINA) or guardianship hearings2,0232,0772,1092,1092,109
Number of adoptions granted3328303030
Number of termination of parental rights (TPR) granted3822232323
Ratio of total number of termination of parental rights (TPR) filed and adoption petitions filed and total granted100%98%99%99%99%
Number of children in need of assistance (CINA) cases closed 210293959595
Percent of appeals in the Appellate Court won100%92%92%92%92%
Code citations processed3,6433,4893,5703,5703,570
Ratio of debt collected to amount referred to the department for collection81%81%81%81%81%
Ratio of cost of debt collection to revenue5%6%6%6%6%
Code enforcement collected ($000)$461$475$455$455$455
Ratio of wins to total code enforcement cases99.6%99.9%99.8%99.8%99.8%
Debt collection ($000)$10,684$10,663$10,600$10,600$10,600
Forfeitures collected ($000)$49$59$81$81$81
1  Following the enactment of the Federal Families First Prevention Services Act of 2018, Child Welfare Services (CWS) is mandated to provide further enhanced efforts to maintain children and families in the home and avoid removal and placement in foster care.
2  The number of CINA cases closed is outside the control of OCA or Child Welfare Services (CWS). Once a CINA petition is filed with the Juvenile Court, the court reviews the administrative actions of CWS in the context of active contested litigation and only closes a CINA case when permanency for the child (reunification, adoption, custody & guardianship, Another Planned Permanent Living Arrangement) is achieved.
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Program Budget Changes

FY27 Recommended ChangesExpendituresFTEs
FY26 Approved840393541.75
Re-align: Board of Investment Trustees Chargeback Personnel Costs to General Fund1570320.75
Multi-program adjustments, including negotiated compensation changes, employee benefit changes, changes due to staff turnover, reorganizations, and other budget changes affecting multiple programs.3960161.00
FY27 Recommended895698343.50