eSubscription - County's Digital Communication Services

Community Action e-newsletter: March 2026

Montgomery County Maryland sent this bulletin at 03/31/2026 09:33 AM EDT

E-Newsletter: March 2026

Montgomery County
Community Action Agency

CAI Participants Practice Their Advocacy Skills

This month, participants in the Community Advocacy Institute (CAI) had the opportunity to share their original testimony at two testimony practice sessions. Held in a County Council hearing room, the two practice sessions were designed to follow the structure of a real hearing. Participants were called to the front of the room in groups of four and each participant had three minutes to present their original testimony. Community Action Board members, CAI Ambassadors and volunteers, and staff served as the mock County Council, providing feedback to each participant.

The CAI is a program of the Community Action Board. CAI participants’ advocacy topics covered a wide range of community issues, including protections for immigrants in the County, mental health, tenants’ rights, and health services. Next month, participants will complete their advocacy projects: testifying before the County Council or Board of Education, submitting written testimony, or meeting with an elected official.

Head Start Registration for 2026 - 2027 is Open

Free pre-kindergarten for low-income families who qualify: Head Start registration for Fall 2026 is open! Flyers in English and Spanish are available.

Applications are accepted online via www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org or in-person at Rocking Horse Road Center, 4910 Macon Road, Rockville, Maryland, 20852, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. The office phone number is 240-740-4530.

List of the documents needed to complete a Head Start application.

Special Registration Events:

Centro Nía, 8901 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, MD 20910 on Tuesday, April 14 and Thursday, May 21 from 9 AM to 4 PM.

Upper County Community Center, 8201 Emory Grove Road, Gaithersburg, MD 20877 on Thursday, April 30 from 9 AM to 4 PM.

There are some spots available in Prekindergarten/Head Start for children who turned four (4) years old on or before September 1, 2025, in low-income families who qualify. Free pre-kindergarten and Head Start programs are held in Montgomery County Public Schools.

For more information, please check https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/dtecps/earlychildhood/prek/

Do you have questions about Head Start? Check out the Common Questions.

Apply to Serve on the Community Action Board

Volunteer graphic with many hands raised

County Executive Elrich is now accepting applications to fill one vacancy in the low-income sector of the Community Action Board. Applicants must live in Montgomery County, have a modest household income, and must be democratically elected to serve on the Board by a group of County residents with modest incomes. Examples of such groups include tenants’ associations, neighborhood groups, and PTAs. Those interested in applying can submit an online application by April 6th. Flyers in Spanish and English are attached.

The Community Action Board is the governing body for the Community Action Agency and the County’s Head Start program, along with the Head Start Parents’ Policy Council. The Board engages in advocacy to address the needs of economically disadvantaged residents, testifying at hearings, submitting written testimony, and meeting with elected officials. The Board also oversees the Community Advocacy Institute.

TESS Community Action Center Reopens

The Takoma-East Silver Spring (TESS) Community Action Center has reopened following the completion of facility repairs at 8703 Flower Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20901. Walk-in hours for brief services are 9 - 11 AM Tuesday - Friday. Afternoons are by appointment only. Call 240-773-8260 to schedule an appointment.

On-site community partners' programs at the TESS Community Action Center include:

Latino Health Initiative Health Promoters: 1st & 3rd Tuesday of each month, 9 - 11:30 AM. For more information, call the Latino Health Initiative: 240 777-3221.
Pro bono legal advice clinics hosted by the Montgomery County Maryland Bar Foundation: 1st & 3rd Wednesday of each month. Sign-in 6 - 6:30 PM. For more information, call the Bar Foundation: 301- 424-7651.
Coffee Chat with IMPACT Silver Spring: 2nd & 4th Tuesday of each month, 9 - 11:30 AM. For information, call IMPACT Silver Spring: 301- 298-5117.

The TESS Community Action Center also partners with the Standby Guardianship program. Call 240-535-5966 for appointments.

The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program will not be at the TESS Community Action Center this season. Call 240-777-1123 or go online to schedule an appointment at another location or a virtual appointment: https://montgomerycountymd.gov/Cashback/schedule.html.

For more information, check the TESS website.

Successful Super VITA Day with Gaithersburg Financial Empowerment Center

In partnership with the City of Gaithersburg Financial Empowerment Center, on Saturday, March 14th, the Community Action Agency's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) staff and volunteers served Montgomery County households with moderate to low incomes with on-site tax return preparation at the Bohrer Park Activity Center.

Emily Linn, Financial Empowerment and Community Initiatives Manager, thanked the Community Action Agency for the successful event. "Thank you very much for all you did to make Super VITA Day a success! Thanks to you, we saw over 100 visitors, successfully completed 63 tax returns and started an additional 15." Participants who started tax returns made plans to follow up with additional documents needed to complete their returns.

"The really exciting statistic is that 30% of participants were new to the VITA program. These are people who likely would not have filed their taxes this year were it not for this event— and likely would have missed out on vital tax credits!"

"Thanks to you, all of these participants not only received the tax support they needed; they also received support with banking needs, food needs, health needs, clothing needs, employment needs, housing needs—and more! Thank you so much for being part of this terrific event."

Thank you to VITA staff Taunya Johnson, Eduardo Mendes, Benoit Codjia (pictured above), Ximena Ruiz, our VITA fellows, and thirteen hard-working volunteers, including those pictured at top, who are all advanced preparers. Altogether, the VITA team members working on Super VITA Day had the capacity to provide services in French, Portuguese, Spanish, Mandarin, and Farsi.

To find free tax filing assistance and learn more about the VITA program, check out the CASHBACK website.

GreenFest on April 25th

From the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection.

Montgomery County GreenFest is going big in 2026! To honor the 250th anniversary of Montgomery County (founded in 1776), this year’s theme centers on legacy and collective action. We invite every resident to celebrate Montgomery County’s 250 years by committing to 250 actions that safeguard our environment and public health.

For the history of GreenFest, exhibitor information, and directions to the BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown, go to: https://montgomerycountygreenfest.org/.

Montgomery County
Community Action Agency
1401 Rockville Pike, Suite 320
Rockville, MD 20852
240-777-1697

Contracts & Grants: County Executive Releases FY2027 Budget; Service Consolidation Hubs Update

The County Executive has released the Fiscal Year 2027 operating budget for July 1, 2026 - June 30, 2027. Contracts monitored by the Community Action Agency are proposed to receive an inflationary adjustment of 2.5%.

Partners that currently have Legacy and Multiyear Community will receive updates and instructions from the Office of Grants Management.

The County Council will finalize the FY2027 budget in mid-May.

As part of the realignment of the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, contracts for the service consolidation hubs are now monitored within the Community Action Agency. Welcome to Hubs Coordinator Suja Ali-McGuire, who monitors this program. Information about the service consolidation hubs can be found through the Office of Food Systems Resilience.

Resources

Past editions of Community Action’s monthly e-newsletter.

Resource Directories:

Get Help website, Gilchrist Immigrant Resource Center, Montgomery County, MD.

WorkSource Montgomery’s Community Assets Map.

Help Is Within Reach:

For a mental health crisis and listening support, call 988.

The Montgomery County Crisis Center: Call in, walk in, mobile outreach, community referrals, and substance use assessment and referrals (240-777-4000).

311: Weekday assistance, 7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m., for health and human services, housing, transportation, and food assistance. Dial 311 from local phone numbers, or 240-777-0311. Non-emergency Montgomery County hate bias incident reporting tool.

Maryland Office of the Attorney General's Hate Crimes Hotline: 1-866-481-8361 and online: https://nohomeforhate.md.gov/. Active incidents should be immediately reported to 911.

Medical emergencies, fires, reporting crimes, disaster response, and life-saving situations: Call 911.

Health Care and Resources:

DHHS Mobile Health Clinic: Integrated medical, dental, behavioral health, and human services to underserved and vulnerable populations and communities. Residents of Montgomery County, with and without health insurance, are eligible for services.

Access HEARS, Inc. Free over-the-counter hearing aids for County residents who are ages 60 and up and have moderate to severe hearing loss and incomes below 250% of the Federal Poverty Level.

DHHS testing for sexually transmitted infections in Silver Spring and Germantown.

Healthy Babies: Pregnancy and Postpartum Care program of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Never Use Alone, Overdose Prevention Lifeline: 877-696-1996. Peer operators are available 24-hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. https://neverusealone.com/

Montgomery County Minority Health Initiatives and Programs:

African American Health Program

Asian American Health Initiative

Latino Health Initiative

Safety and Emergency Preparedness:

Sign up for Alert Montgomery notifications about emergencies in Montgomery County. Alerts can be sent via text, email, or voice message.

The Montgomery County Family Justice Center helps people in domestic violence, child abuse, and elder abuse situations.

Montgomery County Family Violence Awareness and Prevention.

Montgomery County Police offer free gun locks to gun owners: https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/pol/howdoI/gun-lock.html. If you own a firearm, be aware of the law and the responsibilities of locking firearms, especially when there are children in the home: Maryland Laws on Locking Firearms – Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Maryland Vehicle Administration power of attorney form for a vehicle (VR-470) is an important tool if for any reason a vehicle's owner needs to designate someone else the ability to use and hold onto the vehicle. For questions, MVA contact information is at the bottom of the form.

Standby Guardianship: https://www.peoples-law.org/standby-guardianship. Children’s guardianship protection, in case a parent/guardian is unable to care for their children.

Council Unanimously Passes Trust Act to Protect Immigrant Communities. Flyers available in: English, Spanish, French, Amharic, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean.

Food and Household items:

Montgomery County Food Council: Food Assistance Resource Map (available in English, Spanish, Amharic, French, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean).

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

Greater DC Area Diaper Bank Nursery Project provides strollers, car seats, and a cloth diaper service.

Diaper distribution at Montgomery County hubs and other partners.

Assistance with pet food: The Montgomery County Animal Services & Adoption Center may be able to help you with pet food so you can keep your pet at home, and out of the over-crowded shelter: https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/animalservices/.

Financial empowerment:

CASHBACK– VITA Services, tax credit information, and financial education resources.

Gaithersburg Financial Empowerment Center: http://www.gaithersburgmd.gov/fec. Phone: 240-454-5199.

WorkSource Montgomery locations in Wheaton, Germantown, and a Mobile Jobs Center.

Ban the Box: The Fair Criminal Record Screening Standards Law assists in reintegration of people with criminal records into the workforce.

Montgomery County Office of Consumer Protection – A – Z Consumer Advice.

Montgomery County Commission for Women seminars on financial planning, intimate partner violence, separation and divorce, human trafficking, and more.

Protect yourself from SNAP benefits fraud: https://dhs.maryland.gov/prevent-ebt-theft/

Unemployment Insurance.

Resources for federal workers.

Housing – Eviction prevention, home repairs:

Montgomery County Department of Housing and Community Affairs resources for Tenants facing eviction: Landlord-Tenant Affairs > Evictions | DHCA

Montgomery County Renters Alliance – advocacy, education on tenants’ rights.

Limit on rent increases in Montgomery County.

Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development home repair loans for radon abatement and other repairs.

Rebuilding Together Montgomery County: Repairs and modifications to homes for aging in place.

Utilities:

My Green Montgomery: How to lower your energy costs and much more!

Office of Home Energy Programs: Utilities assistance.

WSSC fliers in English and Spanish: Customer Assistance Program for water bill assistance, and a loan program for help with water or sewer pipe repairs or replacement. Learn how to spot a toilet leak and reduce your water bill.

The Community Action Agency is part of Children, Youth, and Family Services in the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services.

This email was sent to you using GovDelivery, on behalf of Montgomery County, Maryland Government.

As a subscriber, you agree that we may contact you by email and use the information you submit as described in the Montgomery County Privacy Policy.

Please do not reply to this email. Replies to this email will not be responded to or read. If you have any questions or comments, please visit the MC311 Portal at www.mc311.com or call 3-1-1 (240-777-0311 if outside the County) to speak with a Customer Service Representative.

If you want to unsubscribe from some email newsletters from Montgomery County, click Manage Preferences and make updates. If you want to unsubscribe from all email newsletters and remove your account information, click Unsubscribe to all or Help for further information.