Washington County youth will be among those who'll benefit from a share of almost $20 million in statewide grants from the Children's Cabinet Fund as announced by Gov. Larry Hogan's office earlier this month, a local official said during a recent interview.
"The Washington County Local Management Board (LMB) has identified youth mental health and the disconnected youth as two of the prioritized areas of need within our community," Washington County Grant Management Director Susan Buchanan said during a Maryland State Wire email interview. "Specifically, the board is focused on addressing the impact of mental health on children’s’ success in school. Disconnected youth are defined as youth ages 18 to 24 who are neither working or attending school.”
Those needs are keenly felt in Washington County, Buchanan said.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan
"Washington County has the fourth highest amount of disconnected youth in the state of Maryland," she said
Much of Washington County LMB's priorities for the funds are state-identified child well-being result areas for Washington County. Washington County area schools will certainly see the funds applied in some of their programs, Buchanan said.
"Funds received through this award will help the board continue funding programs such as our School-Based Mental Health Program, which provides free visits to licensed therapists during the school day at all middle and high schools, and select elementary schools," she said.
"The funds are also used to help disconnected youth either reconnect to work or secondary education with the goal of ultimately becoming financially self-sufficient."
Washington County LMB will receive $713,447 for a local care team coordinator, programs and strategies; and board support from the $19.6 million in awards announced in non-competitive grants to fund more than 120 child- and family-focused community-based programs in Maryland in fiscal year 2019. The grants were announced by the office of Hogan on July 5.
LMBs, which are in all Maryland counties and in Baltimore City to coordinate resources at the local level with an eye toward strengthening services provided to children, youth and families, all received a share of the grants announced by the governor's office.
"Our administration is committed to ensuring Maryland's families in need are better equipped to achieve economic stability and have access to greater opportunities," the state' Republican governor was quoted as saying in the announcement. "These grants enable our network of Local Management Boards to assist thousands of families by providing life-changing resources including anti-hunger initiatives, job readiness programs, and parenting workshops."
The LMB grants are part of Hogan's vision of ensuring an economically secure Maryland for all, the governor's announcement said.
While the grant announcement was not exactly a surprise, it also was not a sure thing for Washington County LMB, Buchanan said.
"We apply annually for this funding," she said. "However, the applications are reviewed and scored, so we are not guaranteed an award each year."
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