Under the Department are seven offices: ADA Coordination; Aging and Independence; Children and Families; Community Partnerships; Consumer Protection; Local Children's Boards; and Veterans and Military Families. The Department also is aided by the Commission for Women.
OFFICE OF ADA COORDINATION
OFFICE ON AGING & INDEPENDENCE
The Office is the local area agency designated by Howard County to administer State and federal funds for local senior citizen programs. These programs cover advocacy services, health education, housing, information and referral, in-home services, and nutrition (Code Human Services Article, secs. 10-201 through 10-214).
Grants of federal and State funds for local programs to serve the elderly are provided to the Office on Aging and Independence by the federal Older Americans Act (Title III), the federal Food and Agriculture Act (sec. 700), and State general funds. The Office also receives local funds, private donations, and contributions from program participants.
OFFICE OF CHILDREN & FAMILIES
In cooperation with other County agencies and private organizations, the Office develops an annual plan for a coordinated system of health, social and community services for children and youth (County Code sec. 12.1500).
OFFICE OF COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS
OFFICE OF CONSUMER PROTECTION
Appointed by the County Executive with County Council consent, the Board consists of seven members who serve five-year terms (County Code, sec. 17.402).
OFFICE OF LOCAL MANAGEMENT BOARD
Appointed by the County Executive with County Council consent, the Local Management Board has from nineteen to twenty-nine members, who serve five-year terms (County Code, secs. 12.300 through 12.307).
OFFICE OF VETERANS & MILITARY FAMILIES
The Office helps veterans and military families find the resources offered to them by government and the nonprofit and business community.
Social service and public assistance programs in Howard County are the responsibility of the Department of Social Services. These include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly the food stamp program), and Temporary Cash Assistance, as well as services for adoption, foster care, and child protection. To implement programs and provide support services to children and families in their communities, the Department also works with local organizations to offer education and training, transitional housing, and drug and alcohol rehabilitation. The Director of the Department administers these programs subject to the supervision, direction, and control of the Social Services Administration, and the Family Investment Administration.
With the approval of the Secretary of Human Services and the advice of the Howard County Social Services Board, the County Executive appoints the Director (Code Human Services Article, secs. 3-101 through 3-303).
On a regular schedule, the Board reviews each guardianship that a public agency holds, and makes recommendations on whether to continue, modify, or end the guardianship.
The Board's eleven members are appointed to three-year terms by the County Executive with County Council approval (Code Family Law Article, secs. 14-401 through 14-404).
CITIZEN REVIEW BOARD FOR CHILDREN
The Citizen Review Board for Children reviews cases of children in foster care to evaluate what progress has been made towards their permanent placement. Cases are reviewed in accordance with priorities established by the Howard County Department of Social Services and the State Citizens Review Board for Children and contained in a memorandum of agreement. For each child reviewed, a recommendation is sent to the County Department of Social Services and the local juvenile court. With concurrence of the Social Services Administration, the State Board may establish categories of foster children for whom a satisfactory permanent arrangement has been made and who may be exempt from local review.
Each local review board has seven members. They are appointed by the Governor to four-year terms (Code Family Law Article, secs. 5-540 through 5-547)
SOCIAL SERVICES BOARD
Appointed by the County Executive, the Board's nine-members serve three-year terms (Code Human Services Article, secs. 3-501 through 3-503).
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To ensure compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which was enacted in 1990, and other disability laws, the Office of ADA Coordination assists the public and County Government on disability-related policies, practices, and procedures.
COMMISSION ON DISABILITIES
The Commission on Disabilities seeks to encourage public awareness of disability-related issues; advises on programs and policies, and works to ensure conformance with the federal Rehabilitation Act (sec. 504), and the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.
The Office on Aging and Independence started as the Office on Aging and adopted its present name in July 2016.
The Office of Children and Families originated as the Office of Children's Services, and adopted its present name in July 2016.
The Office of Community Partnerships administers the County's human service grants in the Community Service Partnership Program as part of the Continuum of Care homeless services. It manages the MultiService Center in North Laurel, and provides staff support for the Board to Promote Self-Sufficiency (County Code, sec. 12.1900).
BOARD TO PROMOTE SELF-SUFFICIENCY
Created in 2008, the Board to Promote Self-Sufficiency consists of from twenty to twenty-seven members (County Code, secs. 12.1700 through 12.1706).
The Office of Consumer Protection formed under the Department of Community Resources and Services in July 2016.
ADVISORY BOARD ON CONSUMER AFFAIRS
Annually, the Advisory Board on Consumer Affairs reviews the programs of the Office of Consumer Protection, and makes recommendations to the Administrator prior to submission of the Office's budget.
Under the Office of Local Management Board is the Local Management Board, which in Howard County is known as the Local Children's Board.
LOCAL MANAGEMENT BOARD
In Howard County, the Local Management Board is known as the Local Children's Board. Working in partnership with the Governor's Office for Children, the Board coordinates a system of local services for County children, youth, and families (Code Human Services Article, secs. 8-301 through 8-305). Health, education, social and justice services are provided to young people who may be moved from their home because of abuse, neglect, delinquency, or special needs. In the community, the Board coordinates services so that children, placed in programs out-of-state, may be helped closer to home.
Under the Department of Community Resources and Services, the Office of Veterans and Military Families was created in July 2016.
COMMISSION ON VETERANS & MILITARY FAMILIES
The Commission on Veterans and Military Families organized in 2011.
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES
When the Department of Social Services started as the Department of Public Welfare in 1939, the Welfare Board was the local administrative agency for public assistance (Chapter 99, Acts of 1939). The Department of Public Welfare assumed welfare responsibilities from the Welfare Board in 1967, and was renamed the Department of Social Services in 1968 (Chapter 148, Acts of 1967; Chapter 702, Acts of 1968).
ADULT PUBLIC GUARDIANSHIP REVIEW BOARD
The Adult Public Guardianship Review Board originated as the Disabled Persons Review Board in 1977 (Chapter 768, Acts of 1977), and reformed under its present name in 1988 (Chapter 295, Acts of 1988).
In 1978, the Citizen Review Board for Children originated as the Foster Care Review Board (Chapter 980, Acts of 1978). The Board reformed under its present name in 1999 (Chapter 355, Acts of 1999).
Until the Great Depression, public assistance and welfare functions of the Social Services Board were administered by the Board of County Commissioners. Under the Board of State Aid and Charities, the Welfare Board assumed those duties in 1933 and became the local agency to direct public relief (Chapter 222, Acts of 1933). The Board also began to certify eligible persons for employment in the federal Works Progress Administration, the Public Works Administration, and the Civilian Conservation Corps (Chapter 586, Acts of 1935). When the State Department of Public Welfare replaced the Board of State Aid and Charities in 1939, the Welfare Board was overseen by the State Department (Chapter 99, Acts of 1939). The Board reformed in 1967 with many of its administrative duties transferred to the County Department of Public Welfare (Chapter 148, Acts of 1967). In 1968, the Board was renamed as the Social Services Board under the Howard County Department of Social Services (Chapter 148, Acts of 1967; Chapter 702, Acts of 1968).
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