Policy Successes

Legislation to require mental health training for athletic coaches to help them recognize indicators of students’ depression, trauma, violence, youth suicide and substance abuse. This effort was spearheaded by our former grantee, Alston for Athletes.

Established a pilot grant program at the state level for local behavioral health authorities to reimburse providers to provide language assistance services for children with limited English proficiency

Funding for additional social work positions in HCPSS to continue to expand school-based mental health supports to all Howard County Public Schools.

Several pieces of state legislation to improve behavioral health and crisis services, including funding the 988 Trust Fund by an additional $12 million, boosting the state’s behavioral health workforce and expanding access to behavioral health services under the state’s Collaborative Care Model.

Nearly $2 million in county funds, plus support from the Horizon Foundation and the Kahlert Foundation, expanded HCPSS’s school-based mental health program to ALL Howard County public schools over the next two years. This program, which the Foundation helped establish, provides an enhanced set of mental health supports that includes 1:1 counseling services – offered to students (with parent permission) by licensed professionals during the school day.

$10.5 million approved by the state legislature to support Maryland’s 24/7 crisis call center operations for the launch of 988, the new official crisis number for mental health and substance user emergencies.

The Howard County Public School System expanded its school-based mental health program to 50 schools (up from 30).

Legislation passed that requires the state to develop and monitor a statewide health equity plan.

The state passed legislation that makes school nurses eligible for an existing state student loan repayment assistance program.

Helped secure approximately $11 million for the new Lakefront Library, which will allow the Howard County Library System to expand its racial equity initiatives and resource center and help community organizations forge new partnerships with one another.

The Howard County Equity Collaborative came together to successfully advocate for changes to Howard County School System’s Educational Equity Policy 1080. The included amendments were a great first step to eliminating barriers that prevent children of color from achieving their full potential (including access to educational opportunity, good health and other determinants of well-being).

The state passed the Safe Sleep Act of 2024, which requires hospitals to provide safe sleep education to parents before they take their newborn home, in order to help prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

Locally, we helped secure $1.7 million for the Maternity Partnership Program to provide important prenatal and postpartum care for uninsured and underinsured mothers in our community.

We helped secure $1.3 million in the FY 2023 budget to launch a Maternity Partnership Program in Howard County, which would make quality prenatal and postpartum care accessible to uninsured and underinsured women. This program would primarily serve Hispanic and Black Howard County moms.

The state legislature passed the Healthy Babies Equity Act to provide prenatal and postnatal care for uninsured pregnant women, regardless of immigration status, through Medicaid. It will also provide sustainable funding for prenatal/postnatal care in future years.

$500,000 for a new mobile farmers market, in partnership with the Roving Radish, that will visit underserved areas of the county and boost matching dollars for residents on federal food programs to help make fresh produce more affordable. The mobile market plans to launch in the 2024 season.

The Howard County Public School System created and expanded the Let’s Rethink Lunch program to serve all 26,000 students in Howard County’s elementary schools with 10 new quality entrees and fresh fruit and salad bars in the lunch line.

Howard County passed legislation to expand healthy snack and drink options in county vending machines.

The Howard County Public School System established a new, world-class wellness policy.

Maryland passed legislation for licensed child care facilities to serve better beverages (including water and milk), to reduce screen time and to promote breastfeeding.

$12+ million – a new record from the $8+ million committed last year for complete streets. Projects include Rogers Avenue, Dobbin Road, US Route 1, Elkridge Main Street, Guilford Road and MD 108 and others.

$8+ million in the FY 2023 capital budget for bike and pedestrian infrastructure projects that will make roads, intersections, sidewalks and paths better, safer and more accessible.

The county’s Complete Streets Design Manual was also approved, which will guide future construction and planning of all projects to be more inclusive of all users of the road.

$5.375 million for bike and pedestrian infrastructure projects in the FY 2022 capital budget.

$2.2 million for bike routes in the FY 2020 capital budget. Howard County also passed its complete streets policy, which will guide future planning of streets, sidewalks, paths, and crosswalks to be more friendly for all users of the road, including pedestrians and bicyclists.

Howard County approved its first Bicycle Master Plan with amendments that required the county to create a complete streets policy and design manual.

The state legislature enacted a bill to improve Maryland health care providers’ ability to access and use patients’ advance directives in electronic form.