One of the perks of being a member of the governor’s cabinet is that you are assigned a pretty good seat for the annual State of the State address in Annapolis. Gov. Martin O’Malley’s speech yesterday recapped many of the administration’s top accomplishments while outlining an aggressive agenda for the coming year.
Two of the special guests recognized by the governor were Janice Spanish and Melissa Jones-Harris. Melissa works in our Caroline County DSS office, and Janice is one of her customers. Like many Marylanders who come to DHR seeking help, Janice was a victim of the Great Recession. She began receiving Temporary Cash Assistance in 2008 and was having a difficult time finding and keeping a job.
In 2011 she became homeless. With nowhere to turn, she was assisted by the St. Martin’s House for Women, a three year transitional program. With the help of Ms. Jones-Harris, her Work Opportunities case manager, Janice was placed in a Work Experience Placement at the Caroline Nursing home. The nursing home saw the potential that this young mother possessed and offered to put her in their Geriatric Nurse Assistant (GNA) program. Janice completed that program and the nursing home offered to hire her last February. She continues working there today.
Janice’s story is but one example of how DHR is helping people find work and become self-sufficient. Last year, DHR placed more than 12,000 individuals who were receiving welfare into jobs – a 16% increase. Even better, 35% of them took jobs that pay more than $10 per hour. Both are records for the State of Maryland.
This year we’re determined to exceed that mark. Using new data analysis tools, we are scrutinizing our caseloads to identify opportunities for moving more people from welfare into jobs that they can maintain. I like to tell people our goal is to get out of the poverty maintenance business and get more people out of poverty. We still have a lot of work to do, but I’m inspired every day by stories like Janice’s, and I hope you are too.
You can watch the full State of the State speech and see Janice and Melissa get recognized here:
