Len Foxwell is the principal of Tred Avon Strategies, a communications and political consulting firm in Annapolis. A Johns Hopkins lecturer and HopStart director, Len previously served as Chief of Staff to Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from Salisbury University, where he also served as Special Assistant to the President.
Clayton A. Mitchell, Sr. is a lifelong Eastern Shoreman, an attorney, and former Chairman of the Maryland Department of Labor's Board of Appeals. He is co-host of the Gonzales/Mitchell Show podcast that discusses politics, business, and cultural issues. He currently advises the Ed Hale for Governor campaign.
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7 Responses
Im in Montgomery County and due to the medical complexities my loved one has, I literally have zero options because they acknowledge they don’t work with people in wheelchairs or who need help with hygiene.
It’s criminal, like why are you forcing me to move my son out of my home which costs more money?
Distinguished Members of the Senate and House of Delegates,
I am writing to share my concerns regarding the proposed Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) budget for Fiscal Year 2027 and the impact it will have on families like mine.
Our son, Robert (“Robbie”), was born in April 1987 in North Charleston, South Carolina, while I was stationed there in the United States Marine Corps. Robbie was delivered post-term by emergency C-section and required resuscitation for the first twelve minutes of his life. He was transferred to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Medical University of South Carolina, where we were given a life expectancy of two years. Today, nearly 37 years later, by the grace of God, he is still with us.
Our family currently participates in the DDA Self-Directed Services (SDS) model. This program has been incredibly valuable, allowing Robbie to make choices about his care, daily activities, and the people who support him. Through the Family as Staff option, he has hired my wife as his caregiver. This arrangement has worked exceptionally well, as it eliminates the need to train outside staff and ensures reliable, consistent care from someone who knows him best.
In 2015, my wife left her job as a paraprofessional educator with Prince George’s County Public Schools after 22 years of service. She made this difficult decision because we did not have reliable transportation for Robbie from his day program. At the time, I was a Sergeant with the U.S. Capitol Police working the midnight shift, and I could not be home in time to relieve her so she could go to work. Throughout my 38 years of public service—9 years in the Marine Corps, 22 years with the U.S. Capitol Police, and 7 years with the Howard County Sheriff’s Office—my wife has provided the majority of Robbie’s care.
Until July 1, 2025, my wife’s hourly rate was based on the Personal Supports (Enhanced) pay scale. When DDA changed the pay structure, her salary was reduced by 26 percent. Now, as the FY27 budget moves through mark-ups, we have been informed that additional fiscal changes are planned for Self-Directed Services.
DDA has indicated that wages may be aligned with U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. According to May 2024 data, the mean hourly wage for a Home Health Aide in Maryland is $17.98 ($36,982 annually), and the 90th percentile is $22.39 per hour ($46,571 annually). If this becomes the new maximum rate, it would represent a dramatic reduction in pay within just two years.
The Self-Directed Services program was designed to help individuals remain at home rather than in group homes or institutions. Robbie’s current annual SDS budget is $188,885.64. This covers all of his services, including personal supports, respite care, paid time off, backup staff as needed, and day habilitation.
By comparison, the annual cost for Community Living in a Group Home (CLGH) is $269,800.56, before any additional direct support hours. For example, 28 hours per week of additional support would cost $67,812.48. Adding day habilitation at $114,190 would bring the total annual cost to approximately $451,803.04.
In other words, if Robbie were placed in a group home, the state’s annual cost would increase by approximately $262,918. By remaining in Self-Directed Services, the state saves a significant amount of money, while Robbie continues to live at home with his family and remain an active member of his community.
Our family is not alone. Hundreds of families rely on Self-Directed Services. Budget cuts will increase staff turnover, reduce safety, and lower the quality of care. Many families will be unable to continue providing care at home, and more individuals will be forced into group homes or institutional settings. This would not only reduce quality of life but also dramatically increase state spending.
I ask you to consider this from a personal perspective. How would you feel if your employer suddenly told you that your salary would be reduced by nearly half? Workers would leave, morale would collapse, and stability would disappear.
Recent compensation data from the Maryland Department of Health shows that among 7,698 employees, a small group of high earners receives a disproportionate share of total compensation:
· 494 employees—about 6 percent—earned more than the Governor’s salary of approximately $188,000.
· These individuals received about $141.8 million in total compensation, representing 18 percent of all MDH payroll.
· The highest-paid employee earned $728,000 in one year.
· 13 employees earned over $500,000.
· 71 employees earned over $400,000.
· 79 employees earned over $300,000.
These figures do not include the substantial value of state-funded benefits such as health insurance, retirement contributions, and paid time off. Total compensation can exceed base pay by 20 percent or more. It is difficult to understand how drastic cuts to DDA services are justified under these circumstances.
In January 2026, the Governor announced:
· $73.7 million for community revitalization and economic development projects
· $164 million in hospital surge funding
· $5 million for an apprenticeship incentive program
While these initiatives may be worthwhile, they were not part of the FY26 budget. At the same time, the proposed FY27 budget includes cuts to DDA services. This is deeply concerning to families in the disability community and to taxpayers alike.
Please listen to the constituents who are living this reality every day. For families like ours, these decisions are not abstract budget lines—they determine whether our loved ones can remain safely at home or be forced into far more costly institutional care.
Thank you for your time, your service, and your consideration.
Respectfully,
Stephen C Merle
Dad/Guardian/Advocate
5505 Montgomery Rd
Ellicott City, MD 21043
I’m disappointed with how many republicans that could have voted against this cut choose not to vote! I’m disgusted with the non complaint input against this by Governor Moore! It proves he will see the vulnerable population that actually needs these services in order to meet their daily ADLs and to be independent without being shoved into group homes that will be overcrowded and have poor quality of care and we all know that as to be in with the families that love them, the most that would rather step up to the bat and really take one on one attention to the individual that they’re providing care for then for some random stranger to pop into some group Home and not give two kitties ! I’m not saying there aren’t some good individuals out there but I work in that industry as well and I know different. I can’t even say it’s a 50-50 cut for quality care but it doesn’t surprise me like I say because Governor Moore has proven to me that he has no regard to the Maryland citizens with the higher taxes across the board running people out of the state of Maryland closing up jobs, closing mom and pop shops just all around looking for our demise why he just digs deeper into his pocket, pulling out the watts of cash for his own welfare ! I wonder if he has any family members that are impacted with needing services for their loved ones with disabilities but actually, I really don’t think he would care. I believe he’s a narcissistic individual that would rather support the Muslim brotherhood terrorist group then to be involved with even looking beyond his scope of crap then he’s thrown on us to see these actual people that belong and have a purpose in society these are our loved ones. ! I feel that he wants to see our loved ones all institutionalized and he also wants to see families go under because he wants our demise!
I am a caregiver for my daughter who has down syndrome, down syndrome aggression, Catatonia, celiac disease, bipolar. She needs to be taken care of 24 seven. She needs help in the bathroom with everything, eating, telling her when to stop eating, needs help to fix her food, cut her food in small pieces so she doesn’t choke and to help her get dressed. She has no safety concerns in her mind so you can’t leave her alone. Taking her to Drs appointments that would in clued inFusions every month traveling to Fairfax, Virginia from Baltimore to see a neurologist etc..
Dear Governor Moore, Delegate Kipke, Delegate Chisholm, Senator Ready, and The Maryland General Assembly
My name is Krissie Hartzell-Fifer, and I am a Maryland mother and full-time caregiver to my son, Eddie, who is 29 years old and has severe Cerebral Palsy that effects every aspect of his physical, mental, and emotional part of his being. He requires constant, 24/7 care due to his complex medical needs.
I am writing because the current and proposed cuts to Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) funding are pushing my family—and many others—into crisis.
Eddie’s care is nonstop. Even when support staff are present, I must remain there because of medical tasks they are not allowed to perform. That means I am never truly off the clock.
When my son previously had nursing support, I was able to work, maintain health insurance, and support my household. When those services were taken away and replaced with family-paid caregiving, my income dropped significantly. I lost my health insurance and any financial stability I had built.
Now, with additional cuts, I am being paid near minimum wage for round-the-clock, medically necessary care.
This is not sustainable.
I am now facing impossible choices: risk losing my home, rely on public assistance, or place my son in an institution just so I can work enough hours to survive.
No family should be forced into that position.
We are not asking for excess—we are asking for the bare minimum needed to safely care for our loved ones at home. Even now, most families receive only a fraction of the services they truly need and spend months or years fighting denials.
These cuts do not eliminate need—they shift the burden onto families until we break.
I have already faced foreclosure twice due to these ongoing reductions. If these cuts move forward, I am at serious risk of losing my home.
I am urgently asking you to:
• Stop the proposed DDA funding cuts
• Restore and protect funding for in-home and family caregiving support
• Ensure individuals with complex medical needs can safely remain at home
Without action, more families will be forced into institutional care—an outcome that is not only more expensive for the state, but devastating for families.
Please stand with Maryland’s disability community and the families who care for them every day.
Sincerely,
Krissie Hartzell-Fifer
Anne Arundel County Maryland Citizen
Watching families be destroyed by these wage cuts make NO sense!
These family caregivers struggle enough as it is . There are so many other options and families are willing to make other cuts but wages for caregivers is not the answer.
I challenge Wes Moore to do a home visit with a family caring for a medically complex individual before signing his budget
Anything that you need, I am here for you…