Uprise Party

02/05/2026

Club F.E.A.R. Mentoring in Wicomico County is hosting a Family Love Night 💕
An evening of connection, food, and togetherness for our members and their families.
Dinner provided, RSVP by February 13th!

02/03/2026

Maryland DDA Budget Update:

Last week, Governor Moore released the FY27 draft budget. DDA Community Services includes a $300 million cut, including roughly $150 million in state funding and $150 million in federal matching funds. The DDA budget total increases by 8% year over year, according to budget experts, however, these increases are explained to be mostly tied to increased utilization (services used) that exceeded the budget appropriation for our current fiscal year and are expected to continue, in addition to funding for service expansion including services for transitioning youth, adults aging out of children's residential programs, and crisis resolution cases (people in urgent situations, people who are unhoused, and people in crisis).

The cost containment measures (cuts) are proposed to be accomplished through 3 primary policy changes:

1. Self-Directed Services: Implement Reasonable and Customary Rate Changes. Rates would align with BLS code guidance and wage exceptions would be eliminated. This is projected to impact ~4,000 people with anticipated cost containment of $62 million in General Funds.

2. Community Provider: Dedicated Hours Training for Providers and CCS, and Enforcement of Federal Requirements. This is projected to impact ~3,800 participants who currently have dedicated hours in their person-centered plans. Anticipated cost containment is $54.2 million in General Funds.

3. All People with IDD in DDA Services: Caps on Individual Budgets of $500,000 based on Person Centered/Annual Plan (not utilization). According to DDA, this will impact ~1,600 individuals whose budgets are at or over $500,000 per year, with ~824 people who have service expenditures that exceed $500,000 per year. DDA states they will work with CMS on an exceptions process.

Read more in the latest edition of our Annapolis Insider here: https://conta.cc/3NDfiMF

02/03/2026

Rise up.
In Maryland’s prison system, violence is increasing, with 13 prison homicides recorded in 2025, up from nine in 2024. Black people make up 72.4% of the state’s prison population, despite being less than one third of the general population. These are human lives being lost in a system that claims to be about justice. At the same time, ICE continues to take parents from their children, traumatizing kids and destroying families. We also watch the government play with people’s lives through shutdown threats that delay paychecks, services, and stability whenever it fits their politics. On top of that, everyday people are double taxed. We pay taxes on what we earn and then we are taxed again when we spend that same money just to survive. This system keeps squeezing the people while protecting power. We are the people, even if the Constitution was not written with us in mind, and our lives still matter. This is bigger than Democrat versus Republican. Unity is the power. It is time to come together, demand accountability, and rise up for our families, our communities, and our future.

02/03/2026

Good morning, World!
Could you please do us a favor and invite your friends to this page? We appreciate your support!

02/02/2026

https://www.growithere.org/

Grow It Here is a new farmer-led advocacy campaign focused on bringing attention to mounting agricultural labor shortages, and their threat to American family farms and higher food prices.

02/02/2026

Agricultural workers make farming possible. Without enough workers, farms cannot function and America cannot produce the food we rely on.

A stable, workable farm labor system is essential to sustaining domestic agriculture.

02/02/2026