Latest news with #AdrienneJones
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Blueprint' bill that avoids some of the most severe education cuts is signed into law
Gov. Wes Moore (D), left, shakes the hand of state Board of Education President Joshua Michael. (Photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters) Even as changes to the state's education reform act were being signed into law Tuesday, state officials and advocates were already talking about changes they want to see next in the Blueprint for Maryland's Future. The debate over House Bill 504 – the Excellence in Maryland Public Schools Act – was among the sharpest in the 2025 General Assembly session, with the governor and lawmakers, particularly the House, split over changes to the expensive plan that were needed as the state grappled with a $3 billion budget deficit. But Gov. Wes Moore (D) on Tuesday, standing next to Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) and House Speaker Adrienne Jones (D-Baltimore County), thanked them, several lawmakers and education officials for their work on the bill, which passed on the last day of the 90-day session last month. 'While this legislation is an important step forward, it cannot be the last step that we take on education,' Moore said at Tuesday's bill signing ceremony. 'While we refine our strategy to ensure we aren't just spending more, but that we're spending smart, I will continue to use every option available to me as governor to improve our schools and deliver for our students.' The final bill did not contain some of the deepest cuts that were offered to try rein in spending on the 10-year, multibillion-dollar Blueprint plan. But it also did not include some of the flexibility for local schools boards that some administrators had been pushing for. State Board of Education President Joshua Michael, who attended the bill signing ceremony, said the governor and legislature helped to improve the Blueprint plan through their negotiations. But Michael said it would have helped if they had included funding for a teacher coaching program, a recommendation made by a nonprofit's report last month on reading. 'We're pleased that the legislature authorized the program, but we need resources,' Michael said. 'We're going to continue to press forward with the tools that we have around the literacy policy and the math policy, and we're going to work with the legislature and the governor to see what we can do in the future.' Moore in January proposed a Blueprint reform plan that called for a four-year pause in the expansion of teacher 'collaborative time' – hours when teachers are not in the classroom but are planning for meeting. State education leaders have said at least 12,000 new teachers would have to be hired to fully implement collaborative time. The governor also proposed a decrease in funding for special education, low-income and English language learners, and keeping funding for community schools – those that receive concentration of poverty grants – at current levels for two years. Lawmakers pushed back hard against reductions in funding that would affect those students in most need. Legislators were ultimately able to preserve most of the funding for students in need, and advocates praised lawmakers like Del. Vanessa Atterbeary (D-Howard) for not backing down over funding for underserved students. Atterbeary, who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee that assesses education policy, said Tuesday the legislature may need to assess education funding in the near future, especially 'with the climate' in the federal government led by President Donald Trump (R). 'Why should we say to our most underserved communities, to our minority communities that at the national level when our president is saying, 'We don't care about you,' and WE'RE going to double down and cut their funding. No. Absolutely not,' said Atterbeary, who didn't attend Tuesday's ceremony. 'I couldn't do that as a mother. I couldn't do that as a woman. I couldn't do that as an African American and I absolutely couldn't do it as a legislator,' she said. 'Ultimately, the legislation in terms of that aspect passed as we wanted.' 'Give faith' Advocates such as Riya Gupta remain pleased the Blueprint bill passed, but she said more money is needed for mental health, behavioral and other wraparound services for students in the upcoming 2025-26 school year. Under the Consortium on Coordinated Supports, which is part of the Blueprint plan, the governor proposed to fund those services at $130 million for next fiscal year. The House proposed just $40 million, but ultimately Senate language was adopted that allocated $70 million next year and $100 million a year thereafter. Gupta, interim director for the advocacy group Strong Schools Maryland, which focuses on protecting the Blueprint for Maryland's Future, said Monday that the state cannot make a habit of analyzing Blueprint funding, as it did this year. She also said parents, students, advocates and community leaders should be given ample opportunities to become involved in any policy discussions for next year's legislative session. 'We have to bring them to the table,' she said. 'We have to give the faith to listen to their ideas that are also in line with the vision of the Blueprint.' Sen. Mary Beth Carozza (R-Lower Shore), who voted against the bill last month, agrees more local input is needed. Carozza said she will continue to push for recommendations offered in December by a superintendent's association. Several of the association's proposals became legislation sponsored by Sen. Karen Lewis Young (D-Frederick), and later amendments offered by Carozza, but none of the proposals advanced beyond a Senate committee. 'There were too many missed opportunities to do more on Blueprint revisions and to give our local school systems the flexibility they need…' Carozza said Monday. Carozza and other Republican lawmakers expressed concerns about future funding for the multibillion-dollar plan, now in its third year. Some have said future budgets will not only affect school systems, but also county governments, which may not be able to pay for increases in transportation, special education or other programs. Although the Blueprint is funded in the next two years, the subsequent years are slated to shift to the state's general fund with projected deficits up to $6.2 billion by fiscal 2030. 'Which translates to new and even bigger taxes,' Carozza said. 'We cannot move forward with the Blueprint by doing major cost shifts to the counties.'
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Democrats agree to 'framework' of a budget with negotiations ongoing
It's the most important piece of legislation before the General Assembly, the budget. How the state closes a $3 billion budget deficit will impact every Marylander. Democrats started with the cuts, more than $2 billion worth. "We are making cuts. In fact, our budget includes five hundred million in cuts compared to what the governor had originally proposed," said Speaker of the House Adrienne Jones, a Democrat from Baltimore County. See more:
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Amid national push against DEI programs, Jones leads push to maintain it in Maryland
House Speaker Adrienne Jones (D-Baltimore County) testifies on HB 1253, her bill that would create a state Department of Social Equity. (Photo by Danielle J. Brown/Maryland Matters) Amid a national push by President Donald Trump to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, one of Maryland's leading lawmakers is pushing in the other direction. House Speaker Adrienne Jones (D-Baltimore County) is sponsoring legislation to create a state Department of Social Equity that would assemble in one place several current state government programs that aim to help small and minority businesses and those from disadvantaged communities. 'Too often, the very people these programs are meant to support don't know where to go or who to contact to get the help that they need,' Jones said during testimony on the bill Tuesday before the House Appropriations Committee. 'Programs are fractured across government, making finding those opportunities a challenge,' she said. 'We are breaking down barriers to ensure that disadvantaged individuals and small businesses can find and access the opportunities they need at the state, federal and local levels.' Gov. Wes Moore (D) supports the bill, said Jeremy Baker, the governor's chief legislative officer, who sat beside Jones during the hearing. 'In just the last two weeks, we've seen over 1,250 private sector layoffs in Prince George's and Montgomery [counties] because of the chaos in Washington,' Baker said. 'The changing legal and regulatory landscape means Maryland must find innovative and thoughtful ways to support our small and minority-owned businesses and create pathways to quality work, good wages and wealth creation independent of the federal government.' Testimony lasted less than 10 minutes Tuesday on House Bill 1253, which seeks to create a new department in the executive branch of state government. The new department would be the successor to three current offices focused on social equity programming: the Governor's Office of Small, Minority, and Women-Owned Business Affairs (GOSBA); the Office of Social Equity in the Maryland Cannabis Administration; and the Office of Minority Business Enterprises in the state Department of Transportation. Duties for the new department would include conducting policy analysis on the effectiveness of social equity programs, adopting standards for various agencies and other units within the executive branch to promote social equity, and maintaining an inventory of social equity work performed by each unit. The bill's fiscal note highlights the fact that most of the money for the new department is already in the budget. A total of $11.1 million would be shifted over with the current agencies to the new department, with just $2.3 million in new general funds for a small number of new staff, moving and other expenses. The fiscal note foresees the need for nine new positions in the department that include a secretary, deputy secretary and a principal counsel. A secretary would be appointed by the governor with advice and consent of the Senate. The new department would have to submit a report to the governor and General Assembly by July 1, 2026, that identifies all state programs and units 'dedicated to social equity or that have a social equity component.' In addition, the report would have to provide recommendations on how any programs or agencies can promote social equity. Del. Malcolm P. Ruff (D-Baltimore City), who supports the measure, asked if there 'was any appetite' to create a work group to make sure the plan is carried out. 'We stand at the ready to work with any and all partners to make sure the process goes as smooth as possible,' Baker said. Prior to discussion on the Department of Social Equity bill, Jones testified on another measure she's sponsoring to preserve cultural history: House Bill 1010 would allow donations to be made on noncapital programming to the African American Heritage Preservation Program and Grant Fund. Chanel Compton, executive director of the Banneker-Douglas-Tubman Museum in Annapolis, said it would allow certain programs to continue at historic community centers and sites and small museums throughout the state. 'In this day and age, African American heritage preservation and Black History programming is consistently being smudged and erased all throughout the nation, so let's keep Maryland at the forefront of this work,' she said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Maryland needs to make its voice heard with other states warning against nuclear war
The mushroom cloud of a hydrogen bomb test as part of Operation Ivy in 1952. (Photo from U.S. Department of Energy) The Doomsday Clock of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists is now at 89 seconds to midnight, inching closer to apocalyptic midnight than ever before, due in part, to the growing risk of nuclear war. Treaties between Russia and the U.S. have been abrogated. Experts warn that, if nuclear war occurs, it will likely be unintended, the result of dangerous policies compounded by misdeeds, miscommunication, and mistakes. In the '80s, The Nuclear Freeze movement created public pressure that helped lead to a reduction in weapons and risks. Now, there seems to be a growing public concern again that policies need to change. Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) and House Speaker Adrienne Jones (D-Baltimore County) have written, 'The Maryland Legislature is the representative body of the people and the strongest laws are those that have public input from the start.' In that spirit, the Assembly has an opportunity to pass Senate Joint Resolution 4 and House Joint Resolution 6 on the Use of Nuclear Weapons, responding to an effort by Marylanders, and people across the country, calling for simple changes to dangerous old cold war nuclear policies and take us Back from the Brink. Maryland Matters welcomes guest commentary submissions at editor@ We suggest a 750-word limit and reserve the right to edit or reject submissions. We do not accept columns that are endorsements of candidates, and no longer accept submissions from elected officials or political candidates. Opinion pieces must be signed by at least one individual using their real name. We do not accept columns signed by an organization. Commentary writers must include a short bio and a photo for their bylines. Views of writers are their own. In addition to the Doomsday Clock, the U.N. secretary general, editors of over 100 medical journals across the world, former members of Congress and others have been urging the public to understand how close we are to using these weapons. The 2024 Nobel Peace Prize was just awarded to Nihon Hidankyo, an aging group of Japanese atomic bomb survivors who have been telling their terrifying stories, and pleading for nuclear abolition. Emerging technologies including artificial intelligence increase the risk of unintended escalation and of 'deterrence' failing. Russian President Vladimir Putin talks of using nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Meanwhile, the U.S. is spending enormous amounts of money on upgrading the entire nuclear weapons complex, fueling a new nuclear arms race among all of the nuclear nations and costing Marylanders over $2 billion in taxes in 2024 and the nation nearly $2 trillion over 30 years. The Air Force is planning to put weapons in space that would damage an enemy's early warning system. The Los Alamos weapons lab is ramping up production of plutonium pits for new nuclear weapons. President Donald Trump has expressed a desire to resume testing of nuclear weapons though the last test was in 1992. Nuclear war does not have to be our fate and people in Maryland are joining others across the U.S. to demand change. Sen. Clarence Lam (D-Howard and Anne Arundel), Del. Nicole Williams (D-Prince George's) and many cosponsors, responding to input from the public, have introduced the joint resolutions on the use of nuclear weapons. They are similar to ones passed in Baltimore, Frederick, Montgomery and Prince Georges counties, all modeled on the five points of the Back from the Brink campaign. They convey the wishes of many Marylanders that our government initiate multilateral talks for a verifiable agreement for nuclear disarmament among the nuclear-armed states. This could pave the way some day for all nuclear nations to join the U.N. Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, now ratified by 73 nations. In addition, it calls on the U.S. to take four simple steps to reduce the risk of unintended nuclear war: renounce the option of using nuclear weapons first; end the president's sole, unchecked authority to launch a nuclear attack; take nuclear weapons off hair-trigger alert because if launched in error, they cannot be recalled; and cancel plans to replace our entire arsenal with enhanced weapons. Our resolution, if passed, will help to protect all Marylanders by turning public pressure into political pressure, joining eight other state legislative bodies, and over 75 municipalities and counties who have already passed similar legislation. Our resolution has no fiscal price tag, but in taking a step toward preventing nuclear war, it is priceless. A New York Times series coincidentally called Back from the Brink, concluded that the public must not wait to address this growing risk of catastrophe: 'Citizens, therefore, need to exert their influence well before the country finds itself in such a situation. We should not allow the next generation to inherit a world more dangerous than the one we were given. ' Delegates and senators, we need your help now while we have time. For our children's sake. Pass this resolution, joining other states across the nation to take us back from the brink of nuclear war.
Washington Post
30-01-2025
- Health
- Washington Post
Wash, dry, enroll: Helping people access health care, at the laundromat
SUITLAND, Md. — At a SuperSuds Laundromat just south of D.C., a steady stream of customers loaded clothes into washers and dryers on a recent Sunday morning, passing the time on their phones or watching television. Amid the low hum of spinning clothes, Adrienne Jones made the rounds in a bright yellow sweatshirt, asking customers about their health needs. 'Do you have health coverage?' Jones, an outreach manager for Fabric Health, asked Brendan Glover, 25, who was doing laundry with his toddler in tow. Glover works in law enforcement, but he lost his coverage in 2024 when a job ended. 'I am young, so I don't think about it, but I know I will need it,' he said. Jones collected his contact information, gave him a gift card for a future laundromat visit, and promised to help him find affordable coverage. State Medicaid and Affordable Care Act coverage programs have long struggled to connect with lower-income Americans to help them access health care. They send letters and emails, place phone calls, and post on social media platforms such as Facebook and X. Some of these state programs are trying an alternative approach: meeting people at the laundromat — where they regularly go and usually have time to chat. Fabric Health, a D.C.-based start-up, sends outreach workers into laundromats in Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and — as of January — the District of Columbia, to help people get and use health coverage, including by helping schedule checkups or maternity care. The workers, many of whom are bilingual, visit the laundromats also to establish relationships, build trust, and connect people with government assistance. Medicaid health plans, including those run by CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield in Maryland, UPMC in Pittsburgh and Jefferson Health in Philadelphia, pay Fabric Health to connect with their enrollees. The company was paid by the Maryland Managed Care Organization Association, the state's Medicaid health plan trade group, to help people recertify their Medicaid eligibility after covid pandemic-era coverage protections expired. Since 2023, the company has connected with more than 20,000 people in Maryland and Pennsylvania alone, collecting contact information and data on their health and social needs, said Allister Chang, a co-founder and the chief operating officer. Chang also serves on the D.C. State Board of Education as Ward 2's elected representative. Fabric Health would not disclose its fees to KFF Health News. The company is structured as a public benefit corporation, meaning it is a for-profit business created to provide a social benefit and is not required to prioritize seeking profits for shareholders. Pennie, Pennsylvania's ACA marketplace, which opened in 2020, pays Fabric Health to talk to people in the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh areas about coverage options and enroll them. A survey last year found that two-thirds of uninsured people in the state have never heard of Pennie, said Devon Trolley, Pennie's executive director. 'Fabric's approach is very novel and creative,' she said. 'They go to where people are sitting with time on their hands and develop grassroots relationships and get the word out about Pennie.' For enrollees, the laundromat chats can be easier and quicker than connecting with their health plans' customer service. For the health plans, they can increase state performance payments, which are tied to enrollee satisfaction and effectiveness at getting them services such as cancer screenings. 'Our pitch is: People spend two hours a week waiting around in laundromats and that idle time can be incredibly productive,' said Courtney Bragg, a co-founder and the CEO of Fabric Health. CareFirst began working with the company last year to help people in Maryland renew coverage, schedule checkups and sign up for other benefits including energy assistance and food stamps. Sheila Yahyazadeh, chief external operations officer for the CareFirst plan, said the initiative shows the importance of human interaction. 'There is a misconception that technology will solve all, but a human face is absolutely fundamental to make this program successful because at the end of the day people want to talk to someone and feel seen and cared for,' she said. On a previous visit to SuperSuds, Jones, the Fabric Health outreach worker, met Patti Hayes, 59, of Hyattsville, Maryland, who is enrolled in the Medicaid health plan operated by CareFirst but had not seen a primary care physician in over a year. She said she preferred to see a Black physician. After they met at the laundromat, Jones helped her find a new doctor and schedule an appointment. She also helped her find a therapist in her plan's network. 'This is helpful because it's more of a personal touch,' Hayes said. Fabric Health also texts people to stay in touch and tell them when the outreach workers will be back at their laundromat so they can meet again in person. Paola Flores, 38, of Clinton, Maryland, told a Fabric Health worker she needed help switching Medicaid plans so she could get better care for her autistic child. Communicating with her in Spanish, the worker said she would help her, including by making an appointment with a pediatrician. 'Good help is hard to find,' Flores said. Ryan Moran, Maryland's Medicaid director, said Fabric Health helped keep people enrolled during the Medicaid 'unwinding,' when everyone on the program had to get renewed after the expiration of pandemic-era coverage protections that lasted three years. Outreach workers there focused on laundromats in towns that had high rates of people being disenrolled for paperwork reasons. 'There is no question about the value of human-to-human interaction and the ability to be on the ground where people are, that removes barriers and gets people to engage with us,' Moran said. KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism.
