Government benefits from DHS in Howard County MD
There are public assistance type programs available from Howard County Maryland Department of Human Services for people of all ages, backgrounds, and circumstances. Benefits from DHS (aka Social Services) range from SNAP food stamps to cash from the government, government health insurance, and more. Find details on Howard County MD government assistance programs below.
Applicants range from senior citizens to families with children or the unemployed. While of course not everyone will qualify, the county will try to offer some type of support, even if it is just a referral. The goal of DHS, sometimes referred to as Social Services, is to offer short term help with long term support.
Government help with food in Howard County
Known in the past nationwide as the USDA Food Stamp Program, a service now called SNAP, or the Supplemental Assistance Program, provides benefits in Howard County to the low-income. There is public aid available to all individuals who live in the same residence and regularly purchase and prepare food. They may be provided with a small dollar amount of with financial assistance, to be used to purchase supplementary groceries.
The Howard County Maryland Department of Human Services Senior Nutrition Program supports the health and nutrition of older county adults. This support is for anyone one. However there are special meals for people with hypertension, diabetes, and/or heart disease.
- The program will offer senior clients hot, nutritious meals. In accordance with federal standards, each item served meets one-third of the recommended daily dietary allowance for seniors and complies with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. There are Congregate sites that operate on weekdays, and if someone from Howard County can't make it to a location, they can sign up for the low cost Meals on Wheels service that the Howard County Maryland Department of Human Services partners with.
Grants and government cash from DHS in Howard County
The Temporary Assistance Needy Families (TANF) and the similar TDAP - Temporary Disability Assistance Program help low-income or disabled residents in Howard County pay their bills. This is often combined with SSI, which is the federal government social security disability service. It works by offering clients the provision of benefits, cash assistance, free government money programs and employment resources.
Homeless Prevention and government rent relief is available. The Department of Human Services in Howard County goes beyond defining the concept of homelessness as simply sleeping on the street. DHS in effect tries to help homeless people as well as direct low-income families to rehousing programs in Howard County. Someone from the greater Columbia Maryland area is considered homeless if they sleep in unsafe or inhumane conditions, and there is a broad definition to that. It includes the following.
- Person sleeping in a different place every night.
- Individuals in a shelter, transitional housing, or motel.
- People sleeping in a park or under a bridge, or anywhere outside.
Additionally, because lack of affordable housing in Howard County and lack of transportation generally exist in combination, social workers and volunteers from non-profits in partnership with DHS travel out to meet with people, whether in homeless camps or other locations in which they reside. During this session they will coordinate services provided through a network of partnering agencies.
The public assistance as to the homeless given to them can address health care needs as well as mental health services, drug and alcohol abuse treatment, temporary emergency housing, assistance with securing an affordable apartment, and other benefits and services. The goal is to get them to be sage and secure as soon as possible.
Shelter Services for families with children from Human Services are provided primarily through partnerships and contracts with nonprofit organizations throughout the Howard County community, including the city of Columbia. DHS acts as service coordinator by providing case management services to link all homeless clients with children to needed services.
Government grants can be used as a form of Eviction Prevention. This is available from Human Services as a crisis intervention program that furnishes cash grants to families and adults who are at high risk of losing housing. There is financial help from the government for those facing foreclosure or eviction. Or referrals are given to MEAP-LIHEAP, which assists with utility bills.
- Maryland County Human Services Department also partners with non-profits such as the Salvation Army to stop evictions. Together they try to offer assistance for people that are victims of individual or community disasters or that are stranded from their homes. Those resources can include use of a shelter as well as a hot meal.
The grants pay for Rental Assistance in the region. Federal government funds from ESG assist low-income families who are experiencing difficulty in making monthly rent payments. This is offered in partner with local rent assistance programs in Howard County. Services for the disabled is also available for low-income residents of licensed care facilities. When applying for public aid from Howard County Human Services, income, disability, age, and level of need are taken into consideration when determining eligibility.
Howard County Human Services partners with Aging and Disability Resource Unit. The organization serves as a consolidated access point for assessment for the needs of the elderly, including seniors over the age of 60. There will also be consultations held, coordination of resources, and planning of services for seniors. Additional public aid, such as the grant programs above, can be arranged for persons of all ages with physical and developmental disabilities, as well as related conditions.
Government insurance and medical care from the DHS department
Administered by the state of DHS - Maryland Division of Medical Assistance, along with other agencies that include the Department of Social Services in Howard County, the Medicaid benefit pays medical bills for eligible low-income individuals who are unable to afford health care on their own.
The public program operates under a combination of federal and state of Maryland laws, with costs paid through taxes. Covered services include doctor visits, hospital care, lab tests, dental care, prescription medicines, mental health services, and specialists.
Medicaid from DHS and the state may provides free or low-cost health care for uninsured, low-income pregnant women of any age as well. Additional health care assistance is for children from birth to age nineteen. Once enrolled, participants select HMOs and then choose doctors from lists provided by the department.
Government benefit programs for children in Howard County
The free DHS Child Care Subsidy contribute to payment of day care costs for income-eligible families. There will be an application require din order to get a grant. Public aid will only pay for a portion of child care bills. A caseworker from the department determines program eligibility according to income level. Families whose income is over scale will not be eligible, but there is free and income based daycare in MD.
There is also an information and referral service for families with young children. Government benefits include referrals to appropriate programs and services, such as Head Start or a child care voucher. There is also linkages to public benefits from the department or early intervention services and follow-up for families faced with more complex situations or a higher level of risk. Parental and professional access to on-site mental health consultation is an option as well in Howard County.
Head Start is a government benefit that is in effect a developmental education program. It is for children under the age of 6, and their parents can also take part in social services. Programming from the Human Services Department includes activities that support and promote physical, educational, social, and nutritional development.
Contact for DHS government benefits
There are other programs also available from DHS - Social Services in Howard County. The main address is 9780 Patuxent Woods Dr, Columbia, MD 21046-1526, and for information dial (410) 872-8700.
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