Opinion

Opinion: Months after Maryland’s budget, the silence speaks volumes

Cuts to the Developmental Disabilities Administration will harm the most vulnerable

July 13, 2026 4:54 p.m.

I am a rising senior at St. Anselm’s Abbey School in Washington, D.C., living in Takoma Park, Maryland and excitedly looking at colleges. My younger brother who has nonverbal autism will never have this choice. He will rely on statewide services to live as independently as possible.

Fifty years ago, no such services existed; my brother would have been institutionalized. Fortunately, we have seen years of forward progress surrounding disability rights with changes in our thinking and government funding. Maryland has led the way in this fight. That is, until this past February when Maryland Governor Wes Moore (D) signed the state budget into law, moving us backward. This fast-tracked budget cuts the Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) in ways that will drastically harm the most vulnerable people in the state of Maryland, people like my brother.

Moore’s $126 million cut from the $70.8 billion budget is the second year in a row he has attacked funding for people with disabilities, raising alarms that the DDA could be cut completely. I felt no need to write anything about this topic in February, I could prepare for my impending SAT and AP exams, trusting the public outcry would lead to pieces far better than I could write. Yet, four months later there hasn’t been any public outcry. Instead, silence. Moore has been labeled a massive success ahead of this impending gubernatorial re-election.

With Moore’s all but guaranteed re-election, and expected 2028 presidential run, it is imperative that he, and other Maryland elected officials realize budgets balanced on the backs of the most vulnerable are hollow achievements. It is time for the public to speak up to our politicians on the behalf of the disabled.

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The DDA provides essential resources to individuals with disabilities and their families, such as respite care, employment services, live-in caregiver support and transportation.

This budget will have significant cuts toward funds for self-directed personnel–the individuals hired by people with disabilities or their families to provide essential services. This targets families who are choosing to support their loved ones in their own homes. This is coupled with the fact that it has already become increasingly difficult to qualify for dedicated hours in the last few years. This affects people with the most intense disabilities, the most vulnerable members of our community.

It costs significantly more money per year to care for a child with special needs compared to a child without disabilities. Most families end up having to support their child for their entire lifetime, a daunting financial task anywhere, let alone a state such as Maryland that has one of the highest costs of living.

From my experiences living with my brother, I can testify firsthand to the life-changing benefits that these programs can provide. Disability funding from the government was hard enough to get prior to these cuts; my brother is still on the 8-year wait list for government support that he was placed on moments after his diagnosis. To raise him, and the many other children like him, truly takes a village. For many families, including my own, this budget raises the daunting question: what will happen when the village is gone? As Moore gears up for re-election this fall, his biggest accomplishment has been his considered ability to balance the budget. With the lack of public outcry continuing, I am forced to wonder if it is simply a lack of awareness, or if the general public is returning to a time when we will sweep the plight of the disabled under the collective rug.

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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine