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Program Description

  Early Childhood Services

Early Childhood Services (ECS) serves children from birth to age five with services that support families, early care and education programs, and the community. The program administers the Federally mandated Infants and Toddlers Program (ITP) in collaboration with Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), the County's Resource and Referral Center (R&R) which is part of the statewide R&R Network for support of high-quality child care and the early education workforce, the State Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health Project (IECMH), and the County Child Care in Public Space Program (CCIPS). ECS oversees several contractual services including community-based pre-kindergarten, home visiting, and family support.

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Program Contacts

Contact Oscar Mensah of the HHS - Children, Youth and Family Services at 240-777-3850 or Deborah Lambert of the Office of Management and Budget at 240-777-2794 for more information regarding this department's operating budget.

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Program Performance Measures

Program Performance MeasuresActual FY23Actual FY24Estimated FY25Target FY26Target FY27
Number of children served by the Infants and Toddlers program 14,3114,1384,2124,3004,388
Percent of regulated center-based child care programs that hold a quality of care rating of at least 3 out of 5 in Maryland EXCELS 240%54%64%60%60%
Percent of regulated family child care programs that hold a quality of care rating of at least 3 out of 5 in Maryland EXCELS 312%28%38%35%35%
1  The slight decrease from FY23 to FY24 in enrollment appears to signal that program participation is stabilizing after COVID. Projections assume two percent growth.
2  The large increase in child care programs holding a 3+ EXCELS rating between FY23 and FY24 is due primarily to three factors: 1. The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) discontinued its credentialing program, which removed a professional development hour requirement that childcare providers often struggled to meet; 2. MSDE continues to offer financial incentives to programs that increase their EXCELS rating; and 3. Full staffing of the Early Childhood Services (ECS) quality enhancement team allows for substantial support to Montgomery County childcares who want to improve their quality.
3  The large increase in child care programs holding a 3+ EXCELS rating between FY23 and FY24 is due primarily to three factors: 1. The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) discontinued its credentialing program, which removed a professional development hour requirement that childcare providers often struggled to meet; 2. MSDE continues to offer financial incentives to programs that increase their EXCELS rating; and 3. Full staffing of the ECS quality enhancement team allows for substantial support to Montgomery County childcares who want to improve their quality.
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Program Budget Changes

FY26 Recommended ChangesExpendituresFTEs
FY25 Approved1348840846.33
Enhance: Five Early Childhood Services Positions Previously Funded by Early Care and Education NDA to Consolidated Local Implementation Grant (CLIG)5357815.00
Replace: Maryland Family Network Grant Reduction with General Funds 1753401.45
Replace: Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Grant Reduction with General Funds1308881.40
Multi-program adjustments, including negotiated compensation changes, employee benefit changes, changes due to staff turnover, reorganizations, and other budget changes affecting multiple programs.464552-4.85
FY26 Recommended1479496949.33