WASHINGTON COUNTY LOCAL MANAGEMENT BOARD
RECEIVES $674,447 GRANT AWARD
Grants Will Fund Programs Aimed at Strengthening Children and Families
HAGERSTOWN, MD (August 23, 2017) - The Governor's Office for Children recently awarded the Washington County Local Management Board over $670,000 in state grant funds. The grant award will fund five initiatives aimed at strengthening and improving the lives of youth and families residing in Washington County.
The Washington County Office of Community Grant Management will manage the grant funds. Here is an overview of the five youth and family initiatives that will have a positive impact on our community. The initiatives/programs receiving funding are:
Family Centered Support Services
The Family Center is a multi-generational program targeting youth and young adults not attending school due to pregnancy or becoming a teen parent. Services are provided to both parent and child and include:
- Parenting skills instruction
- Quality childcare
- School readiness preparation
- GED attainment
- Life skills
- Employment readiness preparation
School Based Mental Health Program
The School Based Mental Health Program places a licensed mental health clinician in every Washington County public secondary school and select elementary schools. Students are provided up to three free sessions with the clinician during the school day and are given referrals if continued treatment is necessary.
Intervention & Case Management for Children of Incarcerated Parents
This is a new program created to impact one of Governor Hogan's targeted populations - children with incarcerated parents. The program will provide case management to assist youth and their caregivers during this time of crisis. In addition, the program will provide caregivers with school readiness resources for school success.
Disconnected Youth Career Readiness Program Enhancements
The LMB is providing additional funds to the Western Maryland Consortium. These funds will fill State and Federal funding gaps in existing disconnected youth programs. The program impacts youth ages 16-24 that neither work nor attend school. The LMB funding provided will be used to pay for services such as:
- Driver's education
- Transportation
- GED fees
- Soft skills training
- Birth certificate copies
Program Development & Capacity Building
As encouraged by the Governor's Office for Children, the LMB will utilize a human services consultant to collect and analyze community data. This data will be used to develop one or more new programs that will impact Washington County's disconnected youth population.
"
Maryland's Local Management Boards are the boots on the ground in our communities and we value their unique role in developing local approaches to addressing needs for children, youth and families," said Arlene Lee, executive director Governor's Office for Children. "It is truly wonderful that these grants will support so many promising programs."
