Looking Ahead: Building Up Maryland’s Safety Net After Modest Changes This Year

The 2024 legislative session saw Maryland lawmakers struggle to balance the need for improved social safety nets and economic well-being with the reality of the state’s fiscal challenges. Unlike the past couple of years, which brought new initiatives and temporary but larger amounts of funding to prevent the exacerbation of existing health and economic disparities during the pandemic, Maryland did little to move the needle this year on strengthening public benefits for children, families, and low-income individuals. The truth is that we need to build on the progress already made, and such investments will need continued and increased funding. And while this year’s changes were modest in comparison to some of the more impactful changes of the last few years, they will still benefit thousands of low- and moderate-income Marylanders.

Governor Moore’s ENOUGH Act passed with funding changes

Championed by Governor Moore, the General Assembly passed Senate Bill 482/House Bill 694, also known as the Engaging Neighborhoods, Organizations, Unions, Governments, and Households Grant Program or ENOUGH Act of 2024, which seeks to reduce child poverty using multidisciplinary and neighborhood-specific interventions. The program will be run through the Governor’s Office for Children with a Children’s Cabinet that is required to meet and discuss state needs related to children, youth and families. The initiative will require the state to study neighborhood indicators of poverty and analyze how other states are measuring poverty. It will also provide grants to support anti-poverty initiatives in select communities. The proposed FY 2025 budget appropriated $15 million for the initiative, but after a series of reductions and compromises, $10 million was repurposed for activities to support the Act, with a requirement that the governor must appropriate at least $15 million to the program beginning in FY 2026.

Maryland’s Child Care Scholarship program receives additional funding

According to the state, more than 31,000 children in Maryland benefit from the Child Care Scholarship Program (CCS), double the number that were enrolled in 2021. The CCS enables parents to enter and remain in the workforce by subsidizing the high cost of child care. It gives parents and children access to licensed early education programs. Due to increased demand, about $488 million was added to support the program; $218 million for FY 2024 and $270 million was appropriated for FY 2025. Again, after lawmakers went back and forth trying to agree on a final budget plan, they decided that copayments for the program will not be increased and a previous requirement prohibiting a freeze in enrollment will continue to stay in place, limiting the potential for waitlists.

While the high cost of child care is a burden even for relatively well-off families, the burden is greatest for parents in low-wage jobs. Insufficient access to child care places an especially high burden on women, who in most families still carry a greater share of child care responsibilities than men. Making sure that the CCS is fully funded and expanding the program will ensure that more families have access to quality and affordable child care.

Maryland’s EBT theft replacement program prevailed after proposed setbacks

Thanks to a combination of federal and state level legislation, Maryland is required to replace benefits stolen through Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards, which individuals use to receive cash assistance or food-purchasing assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). This initiative stemmed from increased levels of theft across the country, leaving families unable to afford enough food or pay rent and bills on time. Not only does this program ensure that families are reimbursed for benefits they are entitled to by law, it also requires strengthening security features for EBT cards, makes sure that barriers for replacement are reduced and that such reimbursement is completed in a timely manner.

Going beyond the federal government’s policy, which only allows states to use federal funds to replace SNAP benefits stolen between October 1, 2022 and September 30, 2024, Maryland extended the timeline and required its Department of Human Services to issue replacements to residents whose benefits were also stolen between January 1, 2021 and October 1, 2022. It is important to note that Maryland is required to replace benefits beyond the federal government’s September 2024 deadline, though the state will no longer be able to receive federal financial support in fiscal year 2026. Because the federal funds only replace SNAP benefits, Maryland also appropriates funds to replace cash assistance received through programs like Temporary Cash Assistance, the state’s cash assistance program that is part of its Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).

The EBT replacement program holds the government accountable for ensuring that families’ basic needs are met, and it is only right that families get what they are owed. However, House Bill 1434 of 2024 sought to make restoration of benefits subject to available funding, setting up a scenario in which some families could get reimbursement and others could not. Thanks to the support from advocates and some legislators, the bill passed only in the House and died in committee in the Senate. The governor’s FY 2025 budget initially set out $27.9 million (in general and federal funds) to replace stolen benefits. However, final budget amendments decreased the amount of funding for the program by $7.5 million due to analyses suggesting that the need for cash assistance replacement estimated was overstated. It will be crucial for lawmakers to continue to support this program moving forward, and to reduce the possibility of theft through preventative measures instead of placing the burden on low-income Marylanders.

Modest changes in Maryland’s supplemental benefit for seniors receiving food assistance

According to Maryland’s Department of Legislative Services, there were over 26,000 monthly recipients of the state’s supplemental SNAP benefit in December 2023. Households receiving SNAP are currently eligible to receive the supplemental benefit if there is a member in their household who is at least 62 years old. After amending the bill, the lawmakers passed HB 666 which lowers the age from 62 to 60 that an individual must be in order to receive the state’s supplemental benefit under SNAP, and increases the amount to ensure that these households are receiving at least $50 a month, up from $40 a month. For context, the current minimum federal SNAP benefit is $23 a month. Close to 30,000 households are estimated to benefit from this change.

The bill originally set out to eliminate the age limit and increase the supplement to ensure that households were at least getting $95 a month, but it was stifled by the reality of the state budget. While the final bill doesn’t include the full scope of change policy experts and SNAP recipients felt is needed, expanding and increasing the supplement will still increase food budgets for thousands of older adults in Maryland. However, fully addressing food insecurity for older adults and other individuals not caring for children will require additional resources in the future.