Good morning, good afternoon, everyone.

So used to seeing everyone in the morning, good afternoon, and welcome to the joint committee meeting with Education and Culture and Health and Human Services.

I am Councilmember Laurie Ann Sales and joined by my colleague Chair Jawondo of the ENC committee.

We also have Council Member Shevra Evans.

Councilmember Kristen Mink will uh be joining us in a bit.

She is doing double duty in our TNE meeting.

I'm joined by my committee members, Council members Ludke and Councilmember Friedson.

Thank you.

And today we will be discussing two significant items for today's work session.

Today's uh work session will focus on two major components of HHS's FY27 operating budget that we will be discussing together, uh, both of which directly shape the well-being and long-term outcomes of children and families in Montgomery County.

So, item one is our children, youth and family services.

Uh, we'll be discussing HHS's substantial internal reorganization, how programs, staff, and resources have been aligned, realigned to better meet the needs of our young people and their families.

We'll hear updates on this restructuring, programmatic shifts underway, and the major budget changes affecting some of our most essential supports, including the Lighthouse Initiative.

Um, we will also talk about item two, which is school-based services and partnerships.

Um, this will encompass school health services and the newly created school-based mental health and related services program area.

Um, we will also look at the implications of consolidating programs like linkages to learning, high school wellness centers, and therapeutic mentoring in this reorganized structure.

Uh, the two items together reflect the county's commitment to building a coordinated equitable system of care.

I want to thank uh Ms.

Nicole Rodriguez Hernandez and Tara Clemens Johnson for preparing today's packet and grounding our discussion and data, service impacts, and the realities facing our providers and partners.

And uh, before we begin, I would just like to invite Chair Jawondo to provide any remarks before we get started.

Just say thank you for teeing that up and looking forward to the conversation, some of the most important services for our young people in the county, both in and out of school.

So look forward to the conversation and decision points.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

All right, thank you, Miss Nicole Rodriguez Hernandez.

All right, good afternoon.

Good afternoon, everyone.

Thank you.

All right, I want to start off by thanking our partners at the Department of Health and Human Services and MCPS and Office of Management and Budget for their time for today's committee work session.

Uh, I will try to maintain a very clear discussion as we move through the packet for today, as we are combining some items from different areas within HHS.

So, as the chair noted, today we will be reviewing three areas.

The first is the Department of Health and Human Services, Children, Youth and Family Services Service Area.

In years past, um, we have divided the review of this service area based on its relation with MCPS and other areas.

Um, but for for the due to the reorganization, we are reviewing all of the children, youth, and family services area today, except for early care and education, that early childhood services that we re-reviewed last week on April 21st.

Um, we will also be reviewing the school health services program area that resides under public health services as well.

And because of the reorganization, we will be reviewing the school-based mental health and related services program area, which is a new program area that we discussed originally as it is now under the behavioral health and crisis services service area.

So just to start off with that overview.

Um as the uh package shows at the table of the bottom of page two, we show the FY26 approved as realigned compared to the FY27 CE recommended.

So we can see about a 10 million dollar increase or 21.2% increase with a slight reduction in FTEs due to the realignments.

Um, the executives uh recommendation includes 16 items for the council's review.

However, 1.6 million dollars worth of those items or five items are specifically would be added to the reconciliation list per the council president's budget approach.

We also have a point here that the recommendation includes $7.2 million increase in the children, youth and family services service area related to the Lighthouse Initiative.

To provide just an overview on page three, we have the department background where we've provided the mission statement of the service area of children, youth, and families, as well as the program area of school health services.

I would just like to note again for housekeeping due to the reorganization and as we move into council's final budget approval and the council version of the approved budget book, just noting to eliminate the Office of Community Affairs from the school health services program area as that office no longer exists in the DHS's reorganization, and then same for the school-based mental health and related services program and area under the behavioral health and crisis services to amend the text to reflect the new program title and all of the services they provide.

Like to note again that the committee, the HHS committee reviewed the department's operating budget equity tool analysis on April 16th, and that information is provided for you on page four.

We do have presentations from our chiefs of children, youth and family and behavioral health and crisis services to discuss their service areas, their programs, and the realignment, but did just want to note the table on page five provides additional details where you can compare the fiscal year 26 children, youth and family program areas to the impact on fiscal year 27 and beyond.

So, for example, the existing administration children, youth and families program area.

The child and adolescent school and community-based services program area from fiscal year 26 has now realigned to the behavioral health and crisis services service area under that school-based mental health and related services program area.

Child care subsidies has been realigned to just be absorbed by the early childhood services in the children, youth and family service area.

The positive youth development program area has been renamed to the community and youth violence prevention and intervention program, and high school wellness centers were shifted from that program area to the new behavioral health and crisis services school-based mental health and related services program area.

The early childhood services program area now has absorbed child care subsidies and the head start program area from within DHHS.

And the linkages to learning program area has been absorbed by the behavioral health school-based mental health and related related services program area.

Children, youth and families now has the lighthouse program area that used to be one-time funding, and my colleague Ms.

Clemens Johnson will discuss that later on in the in the review.

And they also have the community action program area that's composed of the community action agency, test center, clusters, East County coordination, navigations and service consolidation hubs.

And then the final new program area for children, youth and families is the special projects and initiatives that includes things like the youth resilience initiative that the council discussed on April 21st out of school time, family resource capabilities, and coordination of the Commission on Children and Youth.

When we look at the vacancies, children youth and families currently reports 10 position vacancies.

Eight are funded through the general fund and two are funded through the grant fund.

And I did also include the school health services vacancies has 15 reported vacancies, all are funded by the general fund, with most of them being either in the recruitment through candidate selection stage.