Maryland State Wire

Cooking Matters 2 Generation is one of the programs in Caroline County that will benefit from a share of the almost $20 million in statewide grants from the Children's Cabinet Fund as announced by Gov. Larry Hogan's office this month, a local official said during a recent interview.

Susan Runnels, director of Caroline Human Services Council, described the Cooking Matters 2 Generation Program, which serves over 200 youths, as "an after school program using a two-generation approach to educate youth and their parents/guardians on healthy eating, nutritional values, preparing meals using fresh vegetables, and shopping on a budget using the Cooking Matters model."

The program is only one of a number of services provided by the Carolina County Local Management Board that will receive grant funds.

"We are grateful to the Governor's Children's Cabinet for this funding," Runnels said. "I have worked here for 16 years and this year is a particularly exciting year. Not only has our board and community come up with such valuable programs to address the needs of our community, but this year includes the issues of hunger and poverty -- to include the successful Farming for Hunger initiative. I believe this Governor's Children's Cabinet funding can truly change our county for the better."

Caroline County LMB will receive $613,425 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 Gov. Larry Hogan on July 5.

The grants are a continuation of Hogan's push for child well-being in Maryland, Runnels said. 

"In April 2015, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan tasked the governor's Office for Children and Maryland’s Children's Cabinet with a series of initiatives aligning with his goal of an economically secure Maryland, with a focus on improving child well-being in Maryland through four strategic goals," Runnels said. "Maryland’s Local Management Boards, such as the one here in Caroline County, receive grants through a Community Partnership Agreement with the Governor's Children's Cabinet in response to the Local Management Board proposal submission to address one or more of the Governor's four strategic goal populations."

Caroline County LMB already had the data in place to determine the county's greatest needs, Runnels said. 

"The greatest needs in Caroline County, as identified in our FY18 Community Needs Assessment, were to address the areas of Poverty, Hunger, and Disconnected/Opportunity Youth in our communities," she said. "Disconnected youth are teenagers and young adults who are between the ages of 16 and 24 who are neither working nor in school."

Disconnected youth also is a state-identified child well-being result area for Caroline County.  

LMBs, which are located in all Maryland counties and in the city of Baltimore, 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. The grants are intended to assist LMBs in their work to coordinate resources at the local level and strengthen services to children, youth and families.