E-Newsletter: July - August 2023

Montgomery County
Community Action Agency

Community Advocacy Institute: Applications Due August 18

Are you interested in learning how to advocate for your community? The Community Action Board is now accepting applications for the CAI, a FREE advocacy training program for lower-income Montgomery County residents. The CAI includes monthly workshops focused on advocacy for policy change. To graduate, participants must attend all sessions and complete an advocacy project (testifying before County Council or another legislative body, or submitting written testimony). The CAI is a bilingual program in English and Spanish. To be eligible for the program, you must live in the County and have a combined household income of $64,000 or less. Applications are due August 18, 2023.

¿Está interesado en aprender ha abogar por su comunidad? La Junta de Acción Comunitaria está aceptando actualmente aplicaciones para el CAI, un programa de capacitación de abogacía GRATUITO para residentes de bajos ingresos del Condado de Montgomery. El CAI incluye talleres mensuales enfocados en la promoción del cambio de políticas. Para graduarse del programa, los participantes deben asistir a todas las sesiones y completar un proyecto de defensa (testificar ante el Concejo del Condado u otro cuerpo legislativo, o presentar testimonio escrito). El CAI es un programa bilingüe en inglés y español. Para ser elegible al programa debe vivir en el Condado y tener un ingreso familiar combinado de $64,000 o menos. Último día de solicitudes, Agosto 18, 2023.

Head Start, Pre-K Registration for 2023 - 2024 School Year

Is your child going to be four (4) years old by September 1, 2023? It is not too late to apply for Prekindergarten and Head Start for Fall 2023! Prekindergarten and Head Start are free prekindergarten programs in the public schools for low-income families who qualify. Call 240-740-4530 or go to https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/dtecps/earlychildhood/prek/ for more information about how to apply. Head Start/Pre-K registration fliers are available in: English, Spanish, Amharic, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese,  French, and Portuguese. Fliers in English and Spanish direct parents and guardians to one link if they are new to MCPS, and another if they already have a child attending MCPS. Applications are accepted online via https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org and in-person at Rocking Horse Road Center, 4910 Macon Road, Rockville, Maryland, 20852, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Do you have questions about Head Start? Check out the Common Questions online.

VITA: Free Tax Return Filing Services for 2020, 2021, and 2022

The Community Action Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program is offering appointments to prepare new and amended 2020, 2021, and 2022 federal and state tax returns through late October. Appointments are available for Montgomery County residents with household incomes of $60,000 or less. Fliers are available in English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Amharic.

VITA services are free. Virtual appointments are available on Mondays, from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, in-person appointments are available at 1401 Rockville Pike, Suite 320, Rockville, MD 20852, from 11:00 a.m. through 5:00 p.m. 

To schedule an appointment, please visit: https://montgomerycountymd.gov/cashback/schedule.html

or call 240-777-1123.

Do you need information about your refund?

• For questions about your federal tax refund, please visit the IRS websiteor call 1-800-829-1040. 
• For questions about your Maryland refund, please visit the Online Services websiteor call 1-800-218-8160.

If you already had an appointment with Community Action VITA and need more information, please call 240-777-1123 or send email to VITA@montgomerycountymd.gov.

Board Members and Head Start Leaders' Annual Retreat

On July 31, several Community Action Board members were joined by Head Start Parent Policy Council leaders for the board’s annual retreat. Every summer, the board hosts a retreat to review its accomplishments from the previous year and to begin planning for the year ahead. Angela Martin, the Executive Director of the Maryland Community Action Partnership, facilitated the retreat, engaging participants in discussions about key questions to guide the board’s advocacy and governance work, and a discussion about collaboration between the CAB and the Policy Council. This year’s retreat, which included an in-person meeting and a virtual option, also included training about the agency’s recent Strategic Plan and the Results Oriented Management and Accountability and the CSBG Annual Report.

TESS and Partners Increase Access to Traditional Foods

Throughout 2023, staff at the Takoma-East Silver Spring (TESS) Community Action Center have been supporting a pilot program of vouchers for traditional Ethiopian and Eritrean foods. Through a partnership between Manna Food Center, the Ethiopian Community Center of Maryland, and the Adarash Market and Nazret Market, both in Silver Spring, families exchange the vouchers for traditional staple foods such as injera, berbere, legumes, and shiro. Funding for the vouchers comes from donations to Manna Food Center. Participating families reside in Montgomery County and have household incomes below the Self-Sufficiency Standard, per Manna Food Center guidelines. TESS staff also connect the families to Manna’s Food for Families program and other food access programs.

The original pilot program for thirty families began in early 2023 with vouchers worth $36. Since mid-July, the vouchers have increased to $45 each and the program has expanded to serve forty families. Many more families are waiting to join the program as vouchers become available, demonstrating the need for supporting access to traditional foods for diverse low-income families.  

For information on TESS Community Action Center services, please visit the TESS website. 

TESS Colleagues Participate in MC Resource Fair

On July 8, representatives of the Takoma-East Silver Spring (TESS) Community Action Center participated in an Ethiopian and Eritrean Resource Fair at the Charlene R Nunley Student Service Center on Montgomery College’s Takoma Park campus. The event focused on providing educational and community resources. Birtucan Assres and Ameha Dessie, TESS Community Services Aides who are fluent in Amharic and English, staffed a table with information on Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services.

Hamrawit Tesfa, Community Engagement Specialist at Montgomery College, stated, “It was indeed a successful day. Ameha and  Birtucan , without exaggeration, were surrounded by seven to ten people at a time and they did such a great job of disbursing needed resources.”

Montgomery College estimated that more than 350 people attended the resource fair, and many expressed gratitude for the resources. A glimpse of Birtucan and Ameha, dressed in a yellow shirt, is on the right side of the above photograph. 

Community Action Leader's Farewell Letter

Sharon Strauss, Executive Director, with Community Action Agency and Office of Community Affairs colleagues.

I have always thrived on change. Being an Air Force “brat,” I grew up in eight states and attended nine schools. After college, I continued embracing mobility, with positions in five states, working with aspiring first-generation college students at Upward Bound, for the State of Virginia, reviewing welfare determinations, and then teaching and directing in early childhood settings, with side hustles to make ends meet through nannying, retail, and teaching Sunday school. So, although it may seem paradoxical that I am now concluding 33+ years with Montgomery County government, I can attest that the several careers which I have had here have been incredibly fulfilling, while offering many opportunities to grow professionally.

I am incredibly grateful that I started my government career in the Montgomery County Department of Family Resources (DFR), in the Child Care Division. Interestingly, TESS and the Community Action Agency were also part of our small Department, led by Chuck Short (pictured above), who later integrated DFR and several other agencies to become the Department of Health and Human Services, and its first director. In the early years, my five officemates shared one computer; team members were all white, native-born, and spoke only English. I recall dusting off my rudimentary Spanish to translate flyers. If a customer needed help in another language, they often brought a family member or friend with them to interpret. Over time, under the leadership of five County Executives and multiple HHS directors, I have witnessed significant changes, as the County initiated programs and hired staff to better serve our changing community, and improved efficiency through technology. I was fortunate to be a member of the early teams which grew Linkages to Learning and the School Based-Health Centers, where I supported our partnerships with public agencies, foundations, and nonprofits to bring resources to meet the complex needs of our increasingly diverse neighbors. For over 15 years, I’ve had the pleasure of being part of the HHS Office of Community Affairs and its Community Action Agency. When I first joined CAA as the HHS Manager for the East County Regional Services Center and Board Liaison, I was mentored by the agency’s talented senior management team to address many challenging situations, and I learned so much. During the Great Recession, with federal funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), I had the opportunity to create a robust response to the increasing poverty through expanding free tax assistance (VITA) and financial education, as well as working with HHS and Board leaders to use the County’s poverty and Self-Sufficiency Standard data to focus attention on the resources required for people to gain social and economic stability, and to advocate for services, especially for child care, to bridge the gap. During the last 10 years, in my role as CAA’s Executive Director, we have moved to two new facilities and designed dedicated space to deliver free tax help at our current office at 1401 Rockville Pike. We have maintained TESS’s invaluable walk-in presence in Long Branch, formerly on Piney Branch Road and now around the corner on Flower Ave. We have launched an impressive multi-media tax credit outreach campaign in 7 languages, bringing together partnering free tax providers to help people access tax credits. Our collaborative efforts to strengthen financial capability have led to partnerships with Financial Empowerment Centers, with the City of Gaithersburg, and through WorkSource Montgomery and United Way. Graduates of the Board’s impressive Community Advocacy Institute (CAI) are living the Community Action goal of “maximum feasible participation,” co-creating policies and services. The CAI program has been studied and features have been adopted by many of our partners, including the Montgomery County Food Council, Interfaith Works, the NAACP Parents’ Council, and the Department of Environmental Protection. Through our contract monitoring team, we regularly share resources with our nonprofit partners and meet with them annually to share best practices. Our Board’s Head Start representatives have ascended to local and State leadership roles, shaping the early childhood landscape, and our Head Start team remains integrally involved in planning to strengthen the engagement of our community-based partners.  I was amazed by the focused, passionate response of our CAA and OCA teams as they stepped up to join our HHS and nonprofit partners in meeting the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic and its economic aftermath. Federal CARES funding provided the resources to study and replicate the “secret sauce” of the TESS model of service navigation, and I am so thrilled that this framework is now permanently embedded through our County-funded Navigation program, with staff working with partners across the County, as well as being integrated as a model in our County’s emergency response and throughout other service areas. The Navigation team’s long-term follow-up services have been recognized with a National Association of Counties (NACo) award as a ground-breaking program. The “whole family” approach at TESS now includes a grant-funded Opportunity Coach and has just started working with our colleagues at Maryland Community Action Partnership to launch a diaper demonstration grant to serve 35 infants, toddlers, and children with special needs. In the last year, we have also completed a Community Needs Assessment, drafted a Strategic Plan for CAA, and an updated Self-Sufficiency Standard report will soon be finalized. Reflecting on your accomplishments, I am so proud to have worked with my colleagues, the Department, the OCA team, the Community Action Board, and our partners to assure equitable access to high-quality, integrated services. I know there is more to be done and feel certain that your next Executive Director will lead you even further.  And remember, although I am leaving HHS and Community Action and its amazing Board members, partners, and volunteers, you have changed me, and I am a better person for having served with you. Warmest wishes, Sharon The following is a link to Sharon Strauss's LinkedIn contact information: http://linkedin.com/in/sharon-strauss-79a87817.

Montgomery County 
Community Action Agency
1401 Rockville Pike, 3rd Floor
Rockville, MD 20852
Phone: 240-777-1697 

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Community Action Partner Spotlight: Upcoming Change in Safety Net Case Management 

In September 2023, Family Services, Inc., will transition Montgomery County-funded safety-net case management services to the Community Action Agency’s Navigation Team. For many years, Family Services, part of Sheppard Pratt, has been providing case management services from the East County Regional Services Center and Sheppard Pratt’s Gaithersburg office through a contract monitored by the Community Action Agency. Over the past several months, Sheppard Pratt and Community Action have together planned a transition of services.  

The case management services, provided in English and Spanish, focus on assisting low-income Montgomery County families who are experiencing crises related to housing, utilities, food, and other basic family needs. The new member of Community Action’s Navigation Team will work a hybrid schedule, providing case management services at the East County Regional Services Center, at 1401 Rockville Pike in Rockville at Community Action’s main office, and virtually as needed. Meanwhile, Sheppard Pratt will continue to provide case management with a part-time position supported by the City of Gaithersburg. 

Community Action is grateful for many years of partnership with Family Services of Sheppard Pratt for case management in the eastern and mid-County areas. Monica Rivera-Goldberg, Program Manager for Community Action’s Navigation Team, is working to ensure a smooth transition of services.

For the case management position, the County is looking for someone with excellent customer service skills, a calm and professional demeanor to assist a complex client population and interact with a range of partners; advanced Spanish and English fluency (oral/writing); mid-level keyboard accuracy; proficiency with Microsoft Word, Teams, Office 365, and in using the Internet; independence in using a laptop computer and telephone messaging system; Internet access and personal “smart” phone; and the ability to comply with Montgomery County Limited English Proficiency Standards.

The case manager’s main duties are to respond to requests for critical case management assistance (via walk-in visits, and/or telephone calls and recorded messages), following the Navigation Team’s service delivery model; provide interpretation for people with limited English proficiency and explanations of services for people with low-literacy or other barriers; initiate triage/screening process using the Department of Health and Human Services eICM system to determine and assist the client in prioritizing service needs; provide information and referrals in partnership with colleagues and nonprofit providers; provide support for people in applying for programs/benefits using online systems, guiding them to complete forms and to complete and submit applications; and answer or make phone calls to assure that they are connected with services, with a warm hand-off to referrals.

Case managers are responsible for computer-based data collection, scheduling customers, and updating and maintaining information and referral system. Work hours are daytime Monday – Friday with occasional evening and weekend hours as needed, no more than twice a month.

To apply for the safety-net case management position, see the listing on ATHENA Consulting's website.

Green Tips: County Expands Electronics Recycling

The following is an excerpt of the full press release, 7/12/2023: https://www2.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgportalapps/Press_Detail.aspx?Item_ID=43695

The Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has expanded its electronics recycling program, a key initiative to promote sustainability and environmental responsibility. The County is now accepting more electronics and is accepting audio and video tapes for recycling.  

The list of additional recyclable electronics includes: 

• Audio tapes 
• Cameras  
• Clocks  
• Drones 
• Empty printer ink and toner cartridges 
• Remote controls 
• Small handheld electric tools 
• Small handheld vacuum cleaners
• Surveillance cameras
• VHS/cassette tapes 

The Shady Grove Processing Facility and Transfer Station is located at 16101 Frederick Road in  Derwood.

For more information, please go to the full press release!

Resources:

New: Help Is Within Reach – The attached flier shows where to call for help. For a mental health crisis and listening support, call 988. The Montgomery County Crisis Center is available for call in, walk in, mobile outreach, community referrals, and substance use assessment and referrals (240-777-4000). 311 provides weekday assistance, 7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m., for health and human services, housing, transportation, and food assistance (311 for local numbers, or 240-777-0311). For medical emergencies, fires, reporting crimes, disaster response, and life-saving situations, call 911.

Forums coming up in September: Ride-On Reimagined is campaign to assess the bus network for significant changes. Go to the link to see opportunities for Public Forums and Community Engagement events. Ride On Reimagined - Montgomery County Division of Transit Services (montgomerycountymd.gov). 

Past editions of Community Action’s monthly e-newsletter are available on the Community Action website (montgomerycountymd.gov/communityaction).

Office of Community Affairs, Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services:

Community Action Agency’s combined FY20 and FY21 annual report

African American Health Program

Asian American Health Initiative

Latino Health Initiative

Health:

Starting July 1, 2023 non-citizen pregnant Marylanders who would otherwise be eligible for Medicaid but for their immigration status may now be eligible for coverage. This means that pregnant women who meet the other Medicaid enrollment requirements except for citizenship will be eligible for full Medicaid coverage. This includes those who are undocumented or are on visas that would otherwise not allow them to apply for Medicaid. For more information, please visit health.maryland.gov/healthybabies .

Montgomery County COVID-19 information: Vaccines for adults and children ages six months and up.

Montgomery County COVID-19 hotline in English: 240-777-1755, and in Spanish: 301-270-8432.

Resource Directories:

Get Help page, Gilchrist Immigrant Resource Center, Montgomery County, MD  https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/gilchrist/get-help/

WorkSource Montgomery’s Community Assets Map

Housing – Repairs, eviction prevention, evictions:

For low-income households, the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development has home repair loans that can assist with paying for radon abatement and other repairs: https://dhcd.maryland.gov/Residents/Pages/SpecialLoans.aspx.

Rebuilding Together Montgomery County – repairs, aging in place modifications to homes: https://rebuildingtogethermc.org/

Landlord-Tenant Affairs, Department of Housing and Community Affairs: https://montgomerycountymd.gov/DHCA/housing/landlordtenant/evictions.html

Sheriff’s Office, Evictions office: 240-777-7130 https://montgomerycountymd.gov/sheriff/sections/eviction-section.html

Montgomery County Renters Alliance – advocacy, education on tenants’ rights: https://www.rentersalliance.org/

Safety and Emergency Preparedness:

Use the following QR code to sign up for Alert Montgomery! Sign up to receive accurate and immediate notifications about emergencies that may affect your home, workplace, child's school, or any other Montgomery County locations. Alerts can be sent via text, email, or voice message. 

Montgomery County flooding website: https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/flooding/. Information on frequently flooded roads, steps residents can take to prepare for potential flooding, and the availability of Flood Insurance available to all properties in the County and a survey on flooding in your neighborhood.

The Maryland Insurance Administration also has a flood insurance information page.

OEMHS website: Tips on preparing for severe storms. 

The Montgomery County Family Justice Center helps people in domestic violence, child abuse, and elder abuse situations. https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/fjc/

Montgomery County Family Violence Awareness and Prevention 

The Montgomery County Crisis Center specializes in serving people with behavioral health (mental health) crises. Information about the Crisis Center and other crisis intervention services:

https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/hhs/programindex/crisisservicesindex.html

Food and Household items:

If you are a victim of SNAP fraud/EBT skimming, go to: https://mocofoodcouncil.org/snapoutreach/.

How to protect SNAP benefits from fraud: Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) Fraud - Maryland Department of Human Services

Information the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: https://dhs.maryland.gov/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program/

Food assistance resources and programs (information available in English, Spanish, Amharic, French, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean)

Food Assistance Resource Map - https://mocofoodcouncil.org/map/

Diaper distribution

Financial empowerment 

What does it cost to live in Maryland? 2023 Maryland Self-Sufficiency Standard

Office of Consumer Protection – A – Z Consumer Advice

My Green Montgomery: How to lower your energy costs and much more! https://mygreenmontgomery.org/projects/energy/

CASHBACK – VITA Services and tax credit information

Free Financial Counseling: Financial Empowerment Center at WorkSource Montgomery and in Gaithersburg: :https://montgomerycountymd.gov/Cashback/fin_education.html

Maryland Homeowner Assistance Fund: Assistance with mortgage payments or other housing costs due to COVID-19 related financial hardships. MHAF application assistance: Latino Economic Development Corporation and Housing Initiatives Partnership.

Ban the Box, or the Fair Criminal Record Screening Standards Law, assists in the successful reintegration of people with criminal records into the workforce by removing barriers to employment and housing. Find out more from the Montgomery County Office of Human Rights.

CFPB Your Money, Your Goals

CFPB Financial Education Tools in Multiple Languages

Protecting Immigrant Families: Immigrant eligibility for public programs.

Unemployment Insurance 

Office of Home Energy Programs: Utilities assistance.

WSSC water & sewer bill assistance in English and Spanish. Call Center Advisors: 301-206-4001.

Water bill assistance flier in English and Spanish

The Community Action Agency is part of the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Community Affairs.