For Immediate Release: Monday, December 4, 2017
Payments to Providers of Services
to People with Developmental Differences are
Focus of Committee Meeting on Monday, Dec. 4 at 9:30 a.m.
Also on Dec. 4: Updates on Montgomery Coalition
for Adult English Literacy’s annual report
and performance of Montgomery College’s
Workforce Development and Continuing Education program
ROCKVILLE, Md., December 1, 2017—The Montgomery County Council’s Health and Human Services (PS) Committee will meet at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, December 4 in the Seventh Floor Council Hearing Room to review Bill 35-17, Finance – Payments to Service Providers, which would require that a payment be made each year to eligible providers of services to people with developmental differences. For many years, the Council has appropriated funding to pay a supplement to certain providers of direct services to individuals with developmental differences, because the State’s reimbursement rates do not take into account the higher cost of living in the County. While most organizations used the additional funding to increase wages, there was no requirement or reporting on whether the funds were being used for this purpose.
The HHS Committee is chaired by Councilmember George Leventhal and includes Council President Roger Berliner and Councilmember Craig Rice.
Bill 35-17 would, in addition to requiring annual payments to eligible service providers, establish eligibility standards for a provider to receive such payments. The standards include demonstrating to the Department of Health and Human Services that the provider pays direct service workers at a rate specified by the Council.
Council President Berliner is the lead sponsor and Councilmembers Leventhal, Elrich, Katz, Floreen, Rice, Hucker, and Navarro and Council Vice President Riemer are cosponsors. A public hearing on Bill 35-17 was held on November 28.
The staff report can be viewed at:
http://montgomerycountymd.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=169&event_id=7492&meta_id=146448
The Planning, Housing, and Economic Development (PHED) Committee will meet at 2 p.m. in the Seventh Floor Council Hearing Room to discuss Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) 17-12, Definitions – Rear Building Line. Councilmember Leventhal is the lead sponsor. ZTA 17-12 would remove the need in most situations for owners of “through lot” properties with two street frontages to receive a variance approval from the Board of Permitting Services to build a structure on the back of a house. The bill’s lead sponsor believes that the approval process is overly burdensome, and since approvals are routinely granted, it should be made more efficient.
The PHED Committee is chaired by Councilmember Floreen and includes Councilmember Leventhal and Council Vice President Riemer.
The staff report can be viewed at:
http://montgomerycountymd.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=169&event_id=7493&meta_id=146450
The PHED Committee also will review Executive Regulation 13-17, Unmaintained Vacant Dwellings, which implements Bill 39-16, Housing and Building Maintenance Standards. Bill 39-16 requires the Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA) to designate certain vacant dwellings as unmaintained and to inspect such dwellings at least once annually.
The staff report can be viewed at:
http://montgomerycountymd.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=169&event_id=7493&meta_id=146452
The Education (ED) Committee will meet at 2 p.m. in the Third Floor Council Conference Room to receive their annual update from the Montgomery Coalition for Adult English Literacy, which will share its fiscal year 2017 report highlighting the work of the organization to further its mission of strengthening "the countywide adult English Literacy network to support a thriving community and effective workforce." The ED Committee is chaired by Councilmember Rice and includes Councilmembers Elrich and Navarro.
The staff report can be viewed at:
http://montgomerycountymd.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=169&event_id=7494&meta_id=146540
The ED Committee will close its meeting with a briefing on Montgomery College's Workforce Development & Continuing Education (WD&CE) programs. Additionally, following up on the Committee's November 13 discussion on Montgomery College metrics, the College will provide data related to the WD&CE program’s annual performance measures.
The staff report can be viewed at:
http://montgomerycountymd.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=169&event_id=7494&meta_id=146456
The Committee meetings will be televised live by County Cable Montgomery (CCM). The channel can be viewed on Cable Channels 996 (high definition) and 6 (standard definition) on Comcast; Channels 1056 (HD) and 6 (SD) on RCN; and Channel 30 on Verizon. The meetings also will be available live via streaming through the Council website at http://tinyurl.com/z9982v8 .
# # # Release ID: 17-376