According to the Frederick News Post, The Arc of Frederick County’s Independent Living and Transitioning Youth Programs face being eliminated from Frederick County Government’s Budget. 

Thank you to Commissioner Kai Hagan and Commissioner Jan Gardner for opposing the cuts to The Arc of Frederick County’s Independent Living and Transitioning Youth Programs.

We need a little bit of your time to please call or email Commissioners David Gray, Blaine Young, and Lennie Thompson  and ask them to also oppose cuts to The Arc of Frederick County’s Independent Living and Transitioning Youth Programs.

 

Jan Gardner - jgardner@FrederickCountyMD.gov ; phone (301) 600-3190

David Gray - dgray@FrederickCountyMD.gov ; phone (301) 600-1101

Kai Hagen - khagen@FrederickCountyMD.gov ; phone (301) 600-1101

Lennie Thompson - lthompson@FrederickCountyMD.gov ; phone (301) 600-1303

Blaine Young - byoung@FrederickCountyMD.gov ; phone (301) 600-2336

The Arc of Frederick County’s Independent Living Program addresses the needs of vulnerable Frederick County adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  The adults served through our Independent Living program live on their own or with family members but require assistance to continue to do so successfully.  This group of vulnerable adults includes parents with intellectual disabilities who need assistance to properly care for their children.  Examples of supports provided include: parenting, housing assistance, medical care, insurance and prescription coverage, and vocational training.

 The Arc of Frederick County’s Transitioning Youth Program serves students, ages 14 to 22, who are preparing to exit from Frederick County Special Education programs and transition to available community resources and access crucial benefits.  Our outreach efforts with families and partnerships with a variety of vested community agencies has provided a means for this program to expand to also include support related to planning for meaningful careers and opportunities of post secondary education.  The Arc’s Transitioning Youth Program is a critical service that also supports students with developmental disabilities to apply and access state services for which they must be proactively identified for and be part of a line item in the Governor’s budget.  If a student is not identified and part of the Maryland state budget, they can not retroactively receive this service after they exit special education.  This service is crucial to Frederick County students with intellectual and developmental disabilities.