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, the 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 receives administrative support from an internal business management team as well as from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Budget Overview

The total recommended FY26 Operating Budget for the Community Engagement Cluster is $10,245,038, an increase of $172,119 or 1.71 percent from the FY25 Approved Budget of $10,072,919. Personnel Costs comprise 69.96 percent of the budget for 35 full-time position(s) and 21 part-time position(s), and a total of 45.25 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 30.04 percent of the FY26 budget.

County Priority Outcomes

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

• An Affordable, Welcoming County for a Lifetime
• 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 FY25 estimates reflect funding based on the FY25 approved budget. The FY26 and FY27 figures are performance targets based on the FY26 recommended budget and funding for comparable service levels in FY27.

Initiatives

• Enhance engagement with multilingual communities through structured community forums and advisory group conversations, establishing regular two-way communication channels that elevate community input while creating streamlined pathways to connect vulnerable immigrant community members with vital legal, health, education, and economic resources in languages other than English.

• Strengthen the Gilchrist Immigrant Resource Center's immigrant service referral system through the identification, verification, and cataloging of additional immigrant-serving organizations and resources, expanding access to comprehensive support services for immigrant communities throughout the County.

Innovations and Productivity Improvements

• The Office of Community Partnerships strengthened multilingual engagement through ongoing in-language community forums, including the Operating Budget forums in Chinese and Spanish with simultaneous interpretation to ensure broader participation and input from diverse linguistic communities.

• The Translation Unit expanded its reach by completing translation requests from 25 County agencies in Amharic, Chinese, French, Korean, Spanish, and Vietnamese, significantly increasing accessibility of government information and services for limited English proficient residents.

• The Caribbean Community Liaison, in partnership with the East County Regional Service Office and other County and non-county government organizations, developed and implemented a comprehensive support system for the increased influx of migrants. Over the last 18 months, this collaborative effort delivered 25 resettlement workgroup conversations and 38 in-language community resource and engagement activities including: Community Group Learning English Classes, Legal Immigration Clinics, Workshops against Sexual Violence, Mental Health Screenings, Continuing Education resources, Workforce Development sessions, laptop distribution events, or food and clothing distribution events.

• The Commission for Women provided leadership to the Montgomery County Human Trafficking Prevention Committee (HTPC). During 2024, the Committee trained members of the community about human trafficking, including members of the Montgomery County Public School system, fellow government entities, non-profit organizations, and supported local legislation that supported human trafficking victims.

• The HTPC created and implemented an inaugural education and outreach campaign about human trafficking. Anti-trafficking information was placed on Ride On buses, recreation centers, and libraries, along with other prominent public areas.

• The Commission for Women organized the 44th Annual Women's Legislative Briefing in January 2024, with over 500 participants. It was the first in-person briefing since the pandemic.

• The Commission for Women provided 27 seminars to several hundred residents in 2024. The focus of the seminars is to enrich the lives of women and families by informing, educating, empowering, and supporting residents of the County.

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....