Commission weighs whether Maryland's Division of Rehabilitation Services should remain in MSDE or be moved

Marlo Lehi, chair of the commission, opened the meeting and asked members to recommend changes that would improve how the Division of Rehabilitation Services (DORS) connects families and delivers services to youth and adults with disabilities. "My name is Marlo Lehi and I am the commission chair," she said as she set the commission's charge and deadline for a final report to the General Assembly by March 15, 2023.

Scott, the presenter, told members the meeting would focus on topics 7 and 8: whether DORS should remain a division of the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) or be transferred to another state agency, and whether it should be governed by a board separate from the state board of education. "These topics are going to cover, topics 7 and 8," Scott said, and outlined a national survey of where vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies sit across states.

Members heard a state-by-state overview showing substantial variation: some VR programs are housed in workforce or labor agencies, some in education, some in health or disability agencies, and some are independent. Scott noted Maryland is among the states where the VR program sits inside an education agency and reported MSDE-managed DORS federal FY22 funding of $48,600,000 and a federal match requirement of $13,159,985.

Commissioners split on whether placement itself determines outcomes. One member argued placement matters because different departments set different priorities (education, employment or health), which can shape staffing and funding decisions. Another member said placement is less important than consistent leadership and advocacy: "It's more about what place will issues and concerns such as staffing and funding be most likely to be prioritized?" one commissioner asked.

Scott and MSDE staff stressed recent MSDE attention to DORS and engagement from the state superintendent. Scott described efforts to increase counselor pay and retain staff and said MSDE secured additional funding in the governor's FY24 budget cycle to meet match requirements. "MSDE was able to get the additional funding into our budget ... we got the money," Scott told the commission.

Members asked for more evidence before making a recommendation: requests included fiscal-impact estimates for moving DORS, a closer look at the governance structure for entities that have changed hosts, and interviews with state directors from jurisdictions that recently moved VR programs. The commission also asked for data on how governance changes affected services in those states.

The commission did not vote or adopt a recommendation at the meeting. Scott summarized next steps: gather fiscal and implementation data, request input from other states and the National Technical Assistance Center, and invite the state superintendent to present to the commission at a future meeting. The commission will continue discussion before finalizing any recommendation.