Update: 2/21/2025

The Governor’s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget would have implemented cuts beginning April of this year (fiscal year 2025). Makom estimated that these cuts would reduce funding by $1.2 to $1.5M between April and June 30, 2025. We applaud the announcement by the Moore-Miller Administration and Leadership of the Maryland General Assembly that the vast majority of these proposed funding cuts will be restored. However, we do NOT know what comprises the remaining 6% in proposed cuts. 

However, there is much work to be done to address significant cuts to the fiscal year 2026 budget, which the announcement does not address.

Of note, the Maryland House of Delegates Appropriations Committee, Health and Human Services subcommittee will convene a DDA hearing on Friday, 28 February, 2:00pm. In advance of this, we are asking you to, once again, utilize the forms below to reach out to your delegates in opposition to these cuts for fiscal year 2026. In addition, we welcome you to submit testimony prior to the hearing. 

The Issue

The 2026 State budget for the intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) system proposes historical, unprecedented funding cuts to the services and supports on which 21,000 Marylanders depend. These include, but are not limited to:

· Over $235,000,000 in scattergun cuts to IDD services, from provider-delivered supports (like the kind Makom provides) to people with IDD who self-direct/control their own services and budgets; deep and dangerous cuts that will impact Maryland kids and adults with IDD.

· Because of this, the State will forfeit nearly $229,000,000 in federal Medicaid matching funds—bringing the total reductions in essential services and supports to well over $460,000,000. Just under a half billion dollars.

· For Makom alone, funding cuts may be as high as $7.0 million, as much as a whopping 22% of our budget. Anything close to cuts of that scale will decimate Makom and the critical services and supports to 250 people.