Maryland, like all states, has a unique early childhood policy landscape that is shaped by economics, demographics, political history, coalitions, and other factors that create a state-specific environment for policy advocacy.
State early childhood policy progress is dependent both on the state’s environment and the numerous efforts—by the organizations listed on this page, other organizations, parents, policymakers, practitioners, and more—who work both independently and collaboratively to achieve wins for young children.
Research shows that family economic security is foundational to children’s overall wellbeing. Research also shows that widespread disparities in opportunity (especially by race) drive wide disparities in outcomes. States with policies that offer strong support to young children and their families are more likely to see 1) declining numbers of children in low-income households and 2) low racial disparity among those children.
Young Children in Low-Income Households: Declining
Approximately 30 percent (188,000) of the state’s children 0-8 live in households below 200% FPL (2022). This number represents a decrease from 31 percent (199,000) in 2017.1
Racial Disparity Among Young Children Living in Low-Income Households: High
Black, Hispanic/Latino, and/or Native children aged 0-8 are significantly more likely to be living in households below 200% FPL than are Asian and non-Hispanic White children.2
State General Fund Appropriations: Declining
In May of 2025, Maryland’s governor approved the state’s fiscal 2026 budget and separate legislation, the Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act of 2025. The budget provides $67.0 billion in all funds appropriations, an increase of $423.4 million, or 0.6 percent, from the fiscal 2025 budget. The budget includes $26.9 billion in general fund appropriations, a decrease of $391.7 million, or 1.4 percent, compared to the fiscal 2025 budget. The March 2025 revenue forecast estimates general fund revenues of $25.4 billion in fiscal 2026, an increase of 0.95 percent over the revised fiscal 2025 estimate. Final legislative action on the budget leaves a general fund cash balance of $321.5 million in fiscal 2026 and an estimated balance of $2.1 billion is projected for the Rainy Day Fund.3
Key Revenue Sources (after federal transfers):4
Maryland uses all major state and local taxes.
State Budget Rules:4
Maryland collects gambling fees that go into the Maryland Education Trust Fund. These funds are used to support prekindergarten programs as well as K–12 systems.5
Political Alignment: Aligned Democratic
During the 2025 session, the state’s Senate and House were both Democrat controlled. The state’s Governor was also a Democrat.6
Types of Ballot Measures Available: Three
Key State Policy Advocacy Organizations Include:
Early Childhood Policy Advocacy Multi-State Initiatives Include:6
Highlights from the state’s early childhood policy advocacy community include:9
Passed by the General Assembly and signed into law by the Governor, HB 785 ensures family child care is considered a residential and a permitted activity. Steps cannot be taken to limit the number of children in care below the number authorized by the State’s Office of Child Care and access to common elements of the community may not be restricted. In testimony before the Committee, the State Department of Education predicted, “The bill may result in a potential increase in family child care homes, which will provide more options for families seeking child care.” Alliance grantee Maryland Family Network has undertaken a concerted effort to increase and sustain the supply of family child care in recent years, primarily through our Growing Opportunities for Family Child Care Program (Go FCC). In just 25 months, the Program has opened 198 new businesses and added 1,375 child care slots across 19 jurisdictions. This includes 312 slots specifically for infants and toddlers. Some potential Go FCC participants did not fully complete the licensing pathway due to restrictions put in place by their communities.
Passed by the General Assembly and signed into law by the Governor, HB 389 reforms the property tax credits that counties are authorized to offer child care programs and allows a credit for child care providers’ real property (buildings and land). It also allows a similar credit for businesses that create on-site space for child care. Four counties in Maryland currently offer one of both of the credits. The bill raises the maximum allowed property tax credit for child care providers from $3,000 to $10,000.
A proposal to expand statewide a universal newborn nurse home visiting program was amended to establish a workgroup that will assess Maryland’s home visiting landscape, identify gaps, and funding sources. Alliance grantee Maryland Family Network will play a key role in staffing the workgroup.
HB 185 reestablishes a mandated appropriation for the Therapeutic Child Care Grant Program (TCCP), administered by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE). As a result, the Governor must include a $3.7 million appropriation for the program in the annual budget bill from fiscal 2027 through 2029. The purpose of the program is to provide grants to providers that specialize in providing child care and early childhood education to children younger than age six who have developmental delays; physical disabilities; or delays in social, emotional, or behavioral functioning.
HB 859 promotes access to health insurance for child care professionals. This bill requires the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange (MHBE) to promote access to health insurance for child care professionals by (1) partnering with the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), prekindergarten provider hubs, child care associations, and relevant nonprofit organizations; (2) helping child care professionals obtain health insurance though MHBE or Medicaid; (3) assisting child care professionals who lose Medicaid coverage with finding alternative health insurance options.
HB 881 will enable child support payments to pass directly to the child, rather than to the State, and for those payments to be disregarded when a custodial parent’s eligibility for benefits is determined. The child support pass-through and disregard will be phased-in starting in Fiscal Year 2028.
HB 1083 requires Maryland’s Department of Health (MDH) to convene a workgroup including early childhood behavioral health experts to ensure the behavioral health benefits covered by Medicaid (Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment- EPSDT) meet the needs of all of Maryland’s children including young children. Currently in Maryland, early child behavioral health clinicians cannot bill for behavioral health services unless that child has a diagnosis. There are many states that allow behavioral health providers to bill for codes related to Social Determinants of Health including housing instability, food insecurity, and many issues that families living in poverty face.
HB 1121 aims to improve foster youth access to child care scholarships as a part of the Successful Adult Program. The bill’s sponsor testified, “HB 1121 would establish a three-year pilot program to help remove these barriers for foster youth parents by simplifying the application process. It eliminates the need for non-custodial parent signatures and removes the requirement for proof of employment or enrollment in educational or job-training programs. These requirements often create emotional and logistical burdens, preventing young parents from pursuing meaningful opportunities. By removing these obstacles, the program would encourage parenting foster youth to seek career opportunities or education without the fear of childcare issues. Ultimately, these changes would likely increase program participation and support foster youth in successfully transitioning to independent adulthood while raising their children.”
Our lead ally in Maryland, Maryland Family Network (MFN), is a voice in Annapolis and Washington, D.C. making sure that the needs of young children and their families are a priority with lawmakers. They administer the state’s network of Family Support Centers and Child Care Resource Centers.
Maryland Family Network is working to advance early childhood policies in several areas that align with the Alliance’s birth-through-eight policy framework:
Child Care
Child Care Workforce
Preschool and Pre-K
Home Visiting
Welfare Early Intervention 0-3
Family Economic Security
Paid Family Leave
Data Systems
Early Childhood Finance and Cost Modeling
Peer collaboration and idea exchange among advocates is a big part of the Alliance network’s success, and that powerful effect is especially clear when it comes to Allies’ work to collaborate on fostering parent leadership in early childhood policy advocacy.
NOTES:
1 Kids Count Data Center, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Children Ages 0 to 8 Below 200 Percent Poverty, January, 2024.
2 National Center for Children in Poverty, Children Ages 0 through 8 Below 200 Percent Poverty, October 2024, NCCP analysis of ACS 5-Year Estimates – Public Use Microdata Sample 2018-2022.
3 National Association of State Budget Officers, Proposed and Enacted Budgets, FY 2026.
4 Urban Institute, State Fiscal Briefs, April 2025.
5 Alliance for Early Success, State Examples of Dedicated Funding Streams, 2025
6 National Conference of State Legislatures, 2025 State & Legislative Partisan Composition, January 31, 2025.
7 Ballotpedia, Ballot Measures by State, Kids Count Data Center, 2025.
8 Alliance for Early Success, Multi-State Initiatives for Early Childhood Policy Advocacy, July, 2024.
9 Alliance for Early Success, State-Wide Advocacy Highlights Survey, April-October, 2025.
