In this subtitle the following words have the meanings indicated.
“Pilot Program” means the Miriam Kelty Aging and Senior Social Connection Hub and Spoke Pilot Program.
“Village” means local, volunteer–led organizations that aim to support community members who choose to age in place, including by:
fostering social connections through activities and events; and
coordinating volunteer help at home using the neighbor–helping–neighbor model.
There is a Miriam Kelty Aging and Senior Social Connection Hub and Spoke Pilot Program in the Department.
The purpose of the Pilot Program is to:
learn, test, and develop best practices using a hub and spoke model for village administration;
centralize administrative tasks and relieve the burden on volunteers;
better coordinate resources and operations to maximize the reach of services provided;
help develop new and developing or emerging villages; and
build social connection and combat loneliness for seniors aging in place.
The goal of the Pilot Program is to support villages that seek to take advantage of operational proficiencies and existing systems, knowledge, skills, and resources to expand services to more residents in the geographic region.
The Department shall administer the Pilot Program.
The Department shall select the Montgomery County Village Consortium to implement the Pilot Program for a 3–year period.
The Montgomery County Village Consortium shall:
establish a 3–year strategic plan for the implementation of the Pilot Program; and
submit to the Department a report each year, using quantitative data if available, regarding the implementation of the plan required under item (1) of this subsection.
The report required under subsection (a)(2) of this section shall include a description of the progress of the plan in the following areas:
administration, including hiring, board membership, and board responsibilities;
direct services provided;
communications;
operations;
programming;
fund–raising;
outreach;
financials, including an accounting of the funds required to be appropriated under § 10–1404 of this subtitle; and
client satisfaction among leaders of villages that participate in the Pilot Program.
For fiscal years 2026 through 2028, the Governor shall include in the annual budget bill an appropriation of $80,000 for the Pilot Program.
The funds appropriated under subsection (a) of this section shall be transferred by the Department to the Montgomery County Village Consortium to be used for:
employing an operations manager;
fund–raising;
marketing and outreach; and
programming.
On or before September 1, 2027, the Montgomery County Village Consortium shall report to the Department on the implementation of this subtitle, including:
comprehensive best practices for creating and operating a hub and spoke model, including:
how to create a hub;
establishing the relationship between the Montgomery County Village Consortium as the hub and the villages as the spokes;
establishing the responsibilities of the hub and the spokes;
describing the population that will be served by a hub;
how to establish a board of directors;
how to identify resources within each hub community, including time, skills, and capabilities;
how to identify the capacity of each hub, including geographic and population capacity;
describing which services can be provided;
how to train volunteers;
how to address overlapping needs of multiple villages’ unique senior communities, including:
support and social activities;
health and wellness; and
education; and
how to work with villages, including:
how to increase village capacity;
how to recruit new villages; and
how to expand offerings of developing villages; and
recommendations regarding how to support interested diverse and underserved communities with the development of villages.