Mission Statement

The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) assures delivery of a full array of services to address the somatic and behavioral health, economic and housing security, and other emergent needs of Montgomery County residents. To achieve this, the Department (directly and/or via a network of community partners) develops and implements policies, procedures, programs, and services that: 1) offer customer-focused direct care and supports; 2) maximize financial and staffing resources to deliver services through effective management, coordination, and pursuit of strategic funding opportunities; 3) pilot and evaluate innovative approaches to service delivery and systems integration; and 4) develop, enhance, and maintain a broad network of community-based organizations, public agencies, and private entities to promote and sustain partnerships which increase the availability of needed services.

Budget Overview

The total approved FY24 Operating Budget for the Department of Health and Human Services is $476,410,072, an increase of $41,284,406 or 9.49 percent from the FY23 Approved Budget of $435,125,666. Personnel Costs comprise 46.89 percent of the budget for 1,722 full-time position(s) and 319 part-time position(s), and a total of 1,948.48 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 53.11 percent of the FY24 budget.

County Priority Outcomes

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

• Thriving Youth and Families
• A Greener County
• An Affordable, Welcoming County for a Lifetime
• Safe Neighborhoods
• 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 FY23 estimates reflect funding based on the FY23 approved budget. The FY24 and FY25 figures are performance targets based on the FY24 approved budget and funding for comparable service levels in FY25.

Initiatives

• Provide American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding of $6,450,000 to continue the Food Staples Program, as needed, in FY24.
• Provide one-time funding of $1,730,000 for COVID response readiness and $770,000 for COVID sheltering in hotels for isolation of COVID positive or exposed people who are experiencing homelessness.
• Increase support for the minority health programs that provide effective, culturally and linguistically appropriate services to improve health outcomes and alleviate health disparities. Increases are $800,000 for the African American Health Program, $1,000,000 for the Black Physicians Health Network, $952,545 for the Latino Health Initiative, and $775,000 for the Asian American Health Initiative.
• Provide $570,575 in funding to expand the State's Autism Waiver Program in the County and to meet increased demands for the program.
• Add $595,069 in funding for a Linkages to Learning and School Based Health Center at Southlake Elementary School.
• Add $1,700,000 to the Housing Initiative Program and $300,000 to the Permanent Supportive Housing Program to avoid reduction in service due to increasing rental prices throughout the County.
• Continue services previously funded by Federal funds, including $3,000,000 for the Service Consolidation Hubs, $1,719,438 in Eviction Prevention, and $711,891 for a Mobile Health Clinic.
• Commit $2,000,000 to enhance the Montgomery Cares clinic reimbursement rate. This enhancement is expected to cover a greater share of the cost of care than in recent years. Upon Council approval of this enhanced funding amount, DHHS will analyze post-pandemic encounter projections to identify a sustainable per-encounter reimbursement rate within fiscal constraints.
• Support individuals with developmental disabilities by creating a Developmental Disability Advisory Council and increasing the Developmental Disability Supplement Program by 4%.

Innovations and Productivity Improvements

• The Services to End and Prevent Homelessness (SEPH) Service Area utiliized an online application system for its COVID Rental Relief and emergency Rental Assistance Program (CRR/eRAP). Subsequent to retiring the existing UNQORK application, which was being used for the Rental Assistance Program, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) adopted the Prince Georges County application, modified it to suit Montgomery County's business flow, and integrated it into existing DHHS and County Information Technology (IT) systems. Supplemental processes were also developed to facilitate:
  • Funds being provided to WSSC Water for the delinquent accounts of County residents based on information provided from WSSC; and
  • Batch e-mail notification of County residents about the status of their applications, and/or the need to complete and submit their applications before the deadline expires.

• In response to stakeholder requests, DHHS' IT team entered into a contract to provide electronic Fax (eFax) services. Now that Technology and Enterprise Business Solutions (TEBS) has completed the transition of County phone service to Verizon, DHHS is planning the next step of implementing the service throughout the Department.
• DHHS' Behavioral Health Crisis Center's antiquated phone system was negatively impacting its ability to handle community calls. DHHS' IT is working closely with TEBS and the County Executive's Office to transition the Crisis Center and other DHHS Call Centers to the new Avaya Cloud Hosted phone system.
• QLESS is a lobby management system that was implemented in DHHS' heavily trafficked locations in 2017. The initial implementation focused on only serving some programs at some locations. Based on the success of this system in helping programs manage their lobbies, the Department has been expanding to additional locations and programs with the Takoma-East Silver Spring (TESS) Community Action Center being DHHS' recent implementation in FY23. The Department also implemented the virtual queuing feature of the system to expand the way the Department triages clients since the COVID pandemic where customers are no longer physically entering DHHS' space but still need the Department's services. The Department is looking to expand to other locations in FY24 as learning from product implementation has revolutionized how it serves customers, including: tracking service request volumes; helping supervisors manage resources to meet demand; enabling individuals to view their place in a queue for services; and working with MC311 to queue individuals requesting Office of Eligibility and Support Services (OESS) assistance.

• The DHHS Community Connect Application works to improve the client experience and increase Case Worker efficiency. The Community Connect Application reduces the number of clients that need to physically enter DHHS offices by moving many client transactions to a digital portal. The Community Connect Application allows a client to access the portal 24/7; electronically update their records; track the status of their applications; and easily apply and screen for DHHS services they may be eligible for. With the Community Connect Application, Case Workers can upload documents directly from a client's application to the case management portal. Case Workers will be able to spend less time gathering application data through back-and-forth communication and manually entering information into the application.

  In the second phase of this project, DHHS is implementing additional features that will allow residents to apply for major County programs, including Working Parents Assistance, County Health Programs such as Montgomery Cares, Care for Kids, Senior Dental, and the Rental Assistance Program. Phase II will also provide Bilingual Spanish access, visible status updates to customers on their application processing, and virtual assistance while the customer is using the portal.