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 recommended FY26 Operating Budget for the Department of Health and Human Services is $554,683,441, an increase of $43,728,543 or 8.56 percent from the FY25 Approved Budget of $510,954,898. Personnel Costs comprise 51.67 percent of the budget for 1,854 full-time position(s) and 312 part-time position(s), and a total of 2,067.89 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 48.33 percent of the FY26 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 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

• Continues the shift in focus of the Services to End and Prevent Homelessness (SEPH) service area toward rental assistance and Housing Stabilization Services (HSS) eviction prevention by annualizing for FY26 the funding provided in Supplemental #25-42. Adds $6.9 million for the continuation of the Short-term Housing and Resolution Program (SHARP) which provides up to 12 months of rental assistance and navigation services to those experiencing homelessness, targeting families currently staying in motels used for overflow shelter and those staying in County family emergency shelters to move them to permanent housing. Adds another $2.9 million in funding for HSS eviction prevention and the Rental Assistance Program (RAP) by offering financial assistance and short-term case management to connect households to needed resources, which may include landlord-tenant affairs, legal services, financial literacy, vocational support, and behavioral healthcare.

• Provides $2.4 million to enhance Health Care for the Uninsured programs, including $963,600 to bring the Montgomery Cares reimbursement rate to 45 percent of the cost of care and prevent potential clinic closures; $903,600 to annualize a recommended FY25 supplemental that recognizes the cost of enrollment growth and expansion to a new clinic at the Islamic Center of Maryland; $333,800 to annualize the cost of Care for Kids (CFK) enrollment growth; and an additional $180,000 to improve reproductive health care access for CFK youth clients.

• Increases funding of $2 million to maintain Rapid Rehousing (RRH) program due to increased rents and the end of COVID-era funding. Replaces American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds with General funds of $1.2 million to continue providing Housing Initiative Program permanent supportive housing services in FY26 to 39 households where at least one household member has a documented disability.

• Adds $1.7 million to enhance and expand school health services. Provides $1.5 million to provide for Blueprint-required community health nurse staffing in 11 new community schools, which is expected to be offset by approximately $1.2 million in revenue. Also adds three nurse managers to support sustainable management staffing ratios and improve the delivery and operations of School Health Services ($225,400).
• Provides funding for several enhancements to the Linkages to Learning program by providing funding for contractual staffing for Linkages to Learning at Greencastle Elementary School and Silver Spring International Middle School ($214,100), funding a new Linkages to Learning at Burnt Mills Elementary School ($200,000), and enhancing Linkages to Learning bilingual therapist contractor salaries to improve recruitment and retention of bilingual therapists ($65,000).
• Restores one-time funding in FY26 for the Lighthouse Initiative (formerly Newcomers) for a total of $7.1 million.
• Replaces a number of FY25 grant reductions with General funds in FY26: HIV, AIDS, and STI Services Grant Reductions ($721,900); Maryland Family Network Grant Reduction ($175,300); Senior Nutrition Services at the Silver Spring Recreation and Aquatic Center ($147,900); and Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Grant Reduction ($130,900). Ensures continuity of Hepatitis B and Immunization Services ($126,800) and Countywide food costs in Senior Nutrition Services ($101,200) despite external revenues becoming insufficient to maintain these costs.
• Enhances supplemental funding for reimbursements to critical providers, including $717,500 for a 3 percent increase to the Developmental Disability Provider Supplement and the Adult Medical Day Care Provider Supplement. Also adds $112,000 to the base to annualize funding for the respite care provider reimbursement rate that was approved in FY24.
• Provides $454,200 to enhance the availability and delivery of dental services, including $300,000 to address the lack of affordable and accessible dental services in East County by partnering with community providers to serve 300 residents; and $154,200 to continue the FY24 transition of contractual dental services staff capacity to County permanent staff positions.
• Accommodates increased utilization of domestic violence shelter services ($425,000), and assumes abuse intervention services that cannot be procured due to state requirements ($107,500 that is expected to be fully offset by revenues).

Innovations and Productivity Improvements

• In conjunction with the Department of Technology and Enterprise Business Solutions, DHHS is building a more up-to-date and secure enterprise Integrated Case Management (eICM) 2.0 with an expected go-live date in FY26.
• In FY25, a new Request for Proposals (RFP) was posted for a new Electronic Health Record (EHR) contract. Proposals are being reviewed, and a new contract is expected to be in place in early FY26 with a go-live expected in the third quarter of FY26.

• QLESS is a lobby management system that was implemented in heavily trafficked DHHS locations in 2017. The initial implementation focused on serving some programs at some locations. Based on the success of this system in helping programs manage the lobbies since 2017, the department has been expanding to different locations and programs. The department will continue to expand to other locations in FY25 and FY26, including to the mobile medical and dental van and Vital Records Office, as the learning from the product implementation has revolutionized how customers are served.

• DHHS is working diligently to enhance data capabilities and improve performance and outcome measures that will lead the department to more data-driven decision-making processes. In FY25, 67 employees began a pilot DataCamp project that includes 17 hours of training on Data Literacy. At the end of the pilot the department hopes that post-tests will show a marked improvement in understanding the importance of data collection, data cleanliness, data analysis, and data visualization. Assuming significant improvements are seen during the pilot, DHHS will put out an RFP to provide data literacy training to all DHHS employees with the intent to create a department-wide data culture.

• The DHHS IT Applications team built a replacement system for HighGear in ServicePoint. Like HighGear, the System for Payments, direct purchase Orders, Careers, and Kontracts (SPOCK) provides a workflow for tasks that require multilevel approvals and tracking of approval status. This has cut down the use of paper and back and forth emails dramatically. The move from HighGear to SPOCK also provides cost savings as a homegrown system.

• The FY25 focus for the Community Connect (Client Portal) team will be on Phase III, which is the Provider Portal Module of the platform. This section of the system is aimed at providing a space for improved invoicing and transactional processes relating to customer benefits approved through the County. Both the customer and provider will be able to see the completed transactions from benefit approval to service payments. Phase IV of the product will evolve in the next couple of years with a focus on customer needs enhancements as post-launch customer feedback is incorporated into the development of improvements to the complete customer service experience.