
Advocates for people with developmental disabilities rallied at the State House Monday night in opposition to $200 million in cuts proposed by Gov. Wes. Moore (D) in his fiscal 2026 budget. (Photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters)
Hundreds of people with developmental disabilities, their families and support staff, gathered at the State House on Monday evening to demand the legislature reject a proposal to cut hundreds of millions from the state agency that oversees services and financial support for the community.
“We will not be silent, we will be heard,” said Mat Rice, executive director for People on the Go Maryland, “but what has to be clear is these budget cuts have got to go.”
The crowd of hundreds began to chant: “Hey Hey! Ho Ho! These budget cuts have got to go!”
The advocates say that the state’s $3 billion budget deficit is being balanced on the backs of the disability community, due to a proposed $200 million cut to the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Administration to help offset the shortfall. State health officials have said the cuts are needed to rein in unsustainable growth in the agency and provide additional financial accountability for those services.
But advocates and organizations with the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Coalition say that cuts should not come at the expense of the community the agency supports.
“We should not have to suffer for the mistakes of the Department of Health. We should not be victims of accounting errors,” Rice said.
The rally comes at a time when lawmakers face tough decisions about the state’s fiscal outlook as they evaluate Gov. Wes Moore’s (D) proposed $67 billion budget for fiscal 2026. Uncertainty about the reliability of future federal fund under the Trump administration strains the financial picture further.
One of the more challenging elements to the proposed budget is the $200 million cut to the Developmental Disabilities Administration, which oversees Medicaid waivers that provide resources and financial help for about 20,500 Marylanders with disabilities.

Hundreds packed Lawyers Mall outside the State House for Monday’s rally. (Photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters.)
Sen. Craig J. Zucker (D-Montgomery), who has a son with autism, promised the crowd Monday to be an ally for the community in the State House as budget discussions continue.
“There are things that might get cut — these are tough budget times,” he said. “But we have to make sure that we’re continuing to look out for the most vulnerable in our community.”
Meeka Caldwell, a member of the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council and mother of a son with Down syndrome, said the proposed cut will reduce access to resources that many Marylanders rely on.
“We cannot stand by and allow cuts to DDA services,” she told the crowd. “Cutting funds is not just a budget decision. It puts the well-being of people with disabilities and their families at risk … We cannot balance the budget on our most vulnerable. The demand for these services are growing, not shrinking. Instead of cuts, we need investments.”
The $200 million cut is a combination of several “cost containment” efforts. A large portion of the cut would reduce or eliminate certain wage increases for support staff, which advocates believe will cause professionals to leave the field in droves to find better-paying jobs.
Ande Kolp, executive director for The Arc Maryland, said that the proposed cuts would be heart-breaking.
“We cannot provide the same services, or more, with less funding per person,” Kolp said. “We cannot look to our hard-working direct support professionals, the backbone of our services in Maryland, and tell them that we appreciate them, but we need to cut their pay.”
Other cuts include financial programs that help families afford additional goods and services that could ease the lives of their loved ones with disabilities.
Tavon Jackson with the Arc of Baltimore is worried about how the proposed cuts will impact people with developmental disabilities.
“A change in DD (developmental disability) services will hurt people with disabilities,” he said. “Losing those services means other people won’t have the opportunity to be successful.
“I’m scared for the future, so I really hope they can help us,” he said.
by Danielle J. Brown, Maryland Matters
February 3, 2025
Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: [email protected].
Linda Cades says
Thank you for a solid, informative report on the rally in Annapolis by people with developmental disabilities and their families to oppose budget cuts proposed by Governor Moore. Those cuts would devastate the Developmental Disability Administration, the agency that serves 18,000 people in Maryland with intellectual and developmental disabilities. My 46-year-old son is one of those people. All of this funding is Medicaid money and supports every service my son and other people like him need — his group home, his day program and his health care.
Medicaid funding in Maryland is a 50/50 match between the state and the federal government. If cuts are made at the state level, we also lose the matching federal money. If these cuts stand, the financial loss for this year will be $194 million dollars. In fiscal year 2026, the loss will be $457 million, overall a 22% cut to developmental disability supports of 22%. The mostly small agencies that provide housing, day, employment and health services to our most vulnerable citizens will not be able to care for them unless our representatives in the Maryland General Assembly act to stop these budget cuts.
All of us recognize that Maryland faces a budget crisis right now, but confronting this problem on the backs of our most vulnerable people is wrong. If, like me, you are a parent, family member, friend or neighbor of someone like my son, please contact your delegates and senator and urge them to find another way to balance the budget.