Prince George's County details $19.27 million FY2026 Family Services budget, requests $1.4M in grants

The Prince George's County Health and Human Services and Public Safety Committee reviewed the Department of Family Services' proposed fiscal year 2026 budget on April 21, 2025.

David Noto, budget analyst with the committee's Budget and Policy Analysis Division, told members the department's proposed total is $19,270,000, an increase of $13,700 from the FY2025 approved budget. Noto said 33.5% of the proposed budget is expected to come from the general fund, 64.6% from grants and 1.9% from the Domestic Violence Special Revenue Fund. He also noted a $1,400,000 supplemental grant request that includes the ENOUGH grant from the Governor's Office for Children.

The FY26 submission reflects several program and staffing priorities, and agency leaders emphasized continuing work on a strategic plan for older residents and efforts to reduce vacancy rates. Director Bellum Butler and her leadership team outlined completed and ongoing initiatives, including a county needs assessment for older residents conducted with George Washington University, conversion of the Maryland Access Point call line to a call center, and federal dementia-capable programming funded through the Administration for Community Living.

Noto said the department is proposing 10 new limited-term positions funded through the general fund (not grant funds). As of March 2025, Family Services reported eight general-fund vacancies, five grant-funded vacancies, one part-time vacancy and 18 limited-term vacancies. The department identified two central challenges: maintaining a fully staffed community options waiver program and high turnover among limited-term, grant-funded positions as employees move to merit positions in nearby jurisdictions.

Director Bellum Butler, director of the Department of Family Services, described the department's core services as information and referral; intervention and case management; home- and community-based services; community outreach and advocacy; provision of senior meals; and food security education. Butler said the department completed a comprehensive needs assessment for older Prince Georgians in partnership with George Washington University that included interviews, focus groups and surveys with more than 800 participants. "The next step," Butler said, "is to develop and complete our strategic plan with participation from community members and the utilization of the data that we collected in the needs assessment." The department set a target completion date of Sept. 30, 2025.

Butler highlighted operational changes intended to improve service delivery. She said the County's Maryland Access Point (MAP) converted its phone system to a call center to allow multiple options counselors to handle calls simultaneously; MAP received 32,338 calls in FY2024, about 2,700 per month. Butler also said the Aging and Disability division received a dementia-capable federal grant from the Administration for Community Living to support evidence-based workshops called "Powerful Tools for Caregivers," including 90-day follow-up support.

On funding for victims of domestic violence, the presentation noted the Domestic Violence Special Revenue Fund remains level at $365,000 for FY26, with most of that amount directed to the Family Crisis Center; the transcript identifies marriage-license fees and permits as the primary revenue source for that fund.

Office of Management and Budget Director Stanley Early clarified an accounting detail: the 10 limited-term grant-funded positions mentioned in the presentation are a reclassification of existing 10,000-hour positions rather than a net increase in headcount.

Committee members offered praise and thanks to the department for its work. Several members also asked about gaps they see in the community—particularly long wait lists for senior caregiving supports and rising needs among older residents with dementia and other chronic conditions. Butler and OMB staff said opportunities exist to expand dementia-related services and caregiver supports, but they noted FY26 is a constrained budget year.

The committee did not take a formal vote on the budget during the April 21 session. The presentation and committee discussion focused on clarifying staffing, funding sources and program priorities.

The Department of Family Services materials referenced in the committee binder include a detailed budget book (presentation pages cited by the budget analyst), the department's responses to analyst questions and supplemental materials accompanying the FY26 submission.

Clarifying details: The FY26 proposed total: $19,270,000 (increase of $13,700 from FY25 approved); funding mix: 33.5% general fund, 64.6% grants, 1.9% Domestic Violence Special Revenue Fund; Domestic Violence SRF amount: $365,000; supplemental grant request: $1,400,000 (includes ENOUGH grant); MAP call volume FY24: 32,338 calls (~2,700/month); local management board ENOUGH award: $476,000; proposed staffing composition: 39 general-fund positions (including 10 disability apprentice positions), 28 full-time grant-funded merit positions, 74 part-time grant-funded positions, 47 limited-term grant-funded positions; vacancies (March 2025): 8 general fund, 5 grant-funded, 1 part-time, 18 limited term; strategic plan target completion: 2025-09-30.

Speakers: [ {"name":"David Noto","role_title":"Budget Analyst, Budget and Policy Analysis Division","affiliation_type":"government"},{"name":"Bellum Butler","role_title":"Director, Department of Family Services","affiliation_type":"government"},{"name":"Anthony Walker","role_title":"Division Manager, Management Services Division, Department of Family Services","affiliation_type":"government"},{"name":"Carmen Duran","role_title":"Division Manager, Domestic Violence and Human Trafficking Division, Department of Family Services","affiliation_type":"government"},{"name":"Kathy Stazny","role_title":"Nutrition Unit Manager, Aging and Disability Services Division, Department of Family Services","affiliation_type":"government"},{"name":"Karen Sylvester","role_title":"Former ADSD Division Manager (retired)","affiliation_type":"government"},{"name":"Stanley Early","role_title":"Director, Office of Management and Budget","affiliation_type":"government"},{"name":"Vice Chair Fisher","role_title":"Vice Chair, HHSPS Committee","affiliation_type":"government"},{"name":"Councilmember Watson","role_title":"Member, HHSPS Committee","affiliation_type":"government"},{"name":"Chair Blige","role_title":"Chair, HHSPS Committee","affiliation_type":"government"} ],

Authorities: [ {"type":"grant","name":"ENOUGH (Engaging Neighborhoods, Organizations, Unions, Governments, and Households) grant","referenced_by":["David Noto","Bellum Butler"]},{"type":"grant","name":"Administration for Community Living dementia-capable grant (Powerful Tools for Caregivers)","referenced_by":["Bellum Butler"]},{"type":"policy","name":"Domestic Violence Special Revenue Fund","referenced_by":["David Noto"]} ],

actions: [],

discussion_decision:{"discussion_points":["Budget composition and grant reliance (64.6% grant-funded)","Staffing vacancies and turnover among limited-term grant-funded positions","Reclassification of 10 limited-term positions as 10,000-hour positions (clarified by OMB)","Completed needs assessment for older residents and next steps for strategic plan","Conversion of Maryland Access Point phone system to call center","Receipt of dementia-capable federal grant and ENOUGH funding"],"directions":["Department to continue work on senior strategic plan with community participation (target completion 2025-09-30)","Work with OHRM and Office of Procurement to address vacancies and streamline contracts"],"decisions":[]},

clarifying_details:[{"category":"budget_total","detail":"Proposed FY26 total","value":"19270000","units":"USD","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"David Noto"},{"category":"supplemental_grant","detail":"Supplemental grant request includes ENOUGH","value":"1400000","units":"USD","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"David Noto"},{"category":"domestic_violence_fund","detail":"Domestic Violence Special Revenue Fund amount for FY26","value":"365000","units":"USD","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"David Noto"},{"category":"map_call_volume","detail":"MAP calls in FY24","value":32338,"units":"calls","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"Bellum Butler"},{"category":"needs_assessment_participants","detail":"Participants in older residents needs assessment","value":800,"units":"people","approximate":true,"source_speaker":"Bellum Butler"},{"category":"strategic_plan_deadline","detail":"Target completion date for older Prince Georgians strategic plan","value":"2025-09-30","units":"date","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"Bellum Butler"}],

proper_names:[{"name":"Prince George's County","type":"other"},{"name":"Department of Family Services","type":"agency"},{"name":"Maryland Access Point","type":"program"},{"name":"George Washington University","type":"organization"},{"name":"ENOUGH","type":"program"},{"name":"Administration for Community Living","type":"agency"},{"name":"Family Crisis Center","type":"organization"}],

community_relevance:{"geographies":["Prince George's County"],"funding_sources":["County general fund","State ENOUGH grant","Administration for Community Living federal grant","Domestic Violence Special Revenue Fund (marriage-license fees)"],"impact_groups":["seniors","caregivers","victims of domestic violence","children and youth"]},

meeting_context:{"engagement_level":{"speakers_count":10,"duration_minutes":~80,"items_count":1},"implementation_risk":"medium","history":[{"date":"2025-04-01","note":"Ribbon cutting for new regional health and human services center (department plans to move into new building)"}]},

searchable_tags:["Family Services","budget","FY2026","seniors","dementia","ENOUGH grant","MAP"],

salience:{"overall":0.60,"overall_justification":"County-level budget for a department that serves seniors, victims and families; grant reliance and vacancies affect service delivery","impact_scope":"local","impact_scope_justification":"Directly affects Prince George's County residents","attention_level":"medium","attention_level_justification":"Budget year constraints and services for vulnerable populations matter to local stakeholders","novelty":0.30,"novelty_justification":"Routine annual budget with some new grant activity","timeliness_urgency":0.60,"timeliness_urgency_justification":"FY26 budget decisions affect services for the coming fiscal year","legal_significance":0.10,"legal_significance_justification":"No new ordinances or statutory changes presented","budgetary_significance":0.45,"budgetary_significance_justification":"$19.27M department budget with significant grant funding","public_safety_risk":0.20,"public_safety_risk_justification":"Indirect relevance through services to vulnerable populations"},

engagement_forecast:{"newsworthiness":{"national":0.05,"regional":0.20,"local":0.80,"justification":"Primarily local interest; regional relevance limited to grant programs and best practices"},"notify_recommendation":{"audience":"city","reason":"Local residents, advocacy groups for seniors and victims, and county staff should be informed","audience_regions":["Prince George's County"]},"predicted_interest":{"national":0.05,"regional":0.20,"local":0.75,"justification":"Direct local impact"},"predicted_click_through":0.20,"predicted_read_time_minutes":3.5},

graph_signals:{"jurisdictions":["US-MD-PGC"],"ontology_topics":["social services","aging","domestic violence","grants"],"sdg_tags":["SDG3","SDG11"],"entities":[{"id":"pgc-dfs","name":"Department of Family Services","type":"agency"}],"events":[]}