Your monthly briefing on Aging, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, and Homeless Management Information Systems for Maryland partners.
CASEWORTHY MARYLAND BRIEF | JULY 2026
Welcome
You told us you want to hear more about AI, so we are leaning in. This month opens with Part 1 of a new series from our Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Shayne Champion. Alongside that, the usual Maryland briefing: Longevity Ready Maryland, July 1 Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) changes, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) Continuum of Care (CoC) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO).
What’s in This Month’s Issue:
Featured From CaseWorthy: Shayne Champion on AI Security for Human Services Leaders
Aging in Maryland: Longevity Ready Maryland (LRM) Implementation and New Long-Term Care Licensing
Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD): July 1 Self-Directed Services Changes and Cost Neutrality Scrutiny
Homelessness and HMIS: HUD FY26 NOFO Overhaul, Eviction Data Cohort, and State Revitalization Awards
Where the Verticals Meet: Federal Policy Shifts and What They Signal for Maryland Providers
Case Study Spotlight: Neighborly Care Network
More to Read This Month
Quick Poll: Where Is Your Organization on Artificial Intelligence Adoption?
FEATURED FROM CASEWORTHY
New Artificial Intelligence Security Series
Our CISO is publishing a four-part series on securing Artificial Intelligence for human services. Part 1 lays the groundwork. Here are three takeaways worth carrying into every AI conversation:
Right-size the hype. ChatGPT, Claude, and Copilot are book-smart with no lived experience. Treat them like a brilliant twelve-year-old college grad: capable, but never unsupervised.
You are not starting from scratch. Zero trust, identity and access management, data classification, and encryption still do most of the heavy lifting for AI risk.
Manage AI like a user, not a program. It pursues objectives rather than following rules, so identity governance, not just code review, has to sit at the center.
Organizations that slow down long enough to secure AI properly will leapfrog the ones cleaning up breaches later. Read the article in full →
GO DEEPER ON AI
Watch the on-demand webinar: Beyond the Buzzwords: How Human Services Organizations Should Approach AI, featuring David Lewis and Darius Beverly.
Longevity Ready Maryland Implementation Builds Out
The LRM Older Adult Data dashboard remains the current planning baseline for county and state partners tracking older-adult demographics. A June 4 Hyattsville Aging in Place recap of Deputy Secretary Jennifer Crawley’s Corridor Conversations appearance walks through where the Maryland Department of Aging is putting weight next: dementia resources, senior homelessness, older-adult workforce pathways, and caregiver supports.
Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD)
Self-Directed Services Changes Took Effect July 1
A WBAL-TV report from June 17 details the immediate impact of the Community Pathways waiver changes: vendor licensure requirements that took effect July 1, with new caps on family and guardian caregiver hours phasing in on September 1, 2026. Families and providers are already redrawing schedules and Person-Centered Plans to comply. Providers with specific wage or hour questions should confirm figures against the current Developmental Disabilities Administration amendment documents.
Cost Neutrality Math Draws Legislative Scrutiny
Spotlight on Maryland coverage from June 5 and June 26 reports a state lawmaker alleging the cost neutrality recalculation behind the waiver amendments was inflated. The Maryland Department of Health (MDH) has said the changes were required to preserve the Community Pathways Waiver, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) told Spotlight it had never issued a notification of non-compliance to the state. The MDH Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waiver page is the official source providers should monitor for amendment dockets and effective dates.
Homelessness and Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS)
HUD Overhauls Federal Homelessness Assistance
The June 1 HUD release announcing the FY26 CoC NOFO puts $4.04 billion into competition, including $1.3 billion for new projects, with explicit priority for Transitional Housing and Supportive Services-Only projects and a stated expectation that CoCs scrutinize and prioritize the most successful projects rather than automatically renew. Per the National Association of Counties (NACo) summary (June 4), applications are due August 26 and awards land by December 1.
Maryland Joins National Eviction Data Cohort
The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) announced on June 1 that the state was selected as one of 11 jurisdictions in the Eviction Data Response Network for 2026 through 2028. The partnership with New America focuses on standardizing eviction data and connecting it to housing stability strategy, which has obvious implications for HMIS, coordinated entry, and prevention pipelines.
$73.3M in State Revitalization Awards
DHCD announced $73.3 million in Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) State Revitalization Programs awards on June 1, covering six programs and 247 projects, with 69% of awards directed to the Just Communities and ENOUGH Communities programs combined. The funding supports housing rehabilitation, main-street revitalization, and community development efforts that intersect daily with homelessness prevention work.
Where the Verticals Meet
Federal and State Policy Shifts and What They Signal for Maryland
A National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) analysis published June 2 lays out how shifts in HUD priorities, funding structures, and eligibility criteria could affect renewals, program design, and the people served across the country. For Maryland providers, the practical takeaway is that FY26 CoC applications need defensible performance data and clean Annual Performance Reports, and that eligibility and coordinated-entry workflows should be documented tightly, regardless of how the legal and regulatory landscape settles.
CASE STUDY SPOTLIGHT
Neighborly Care Network
Neighborly Care Network, a senior services nonprofit, used ServTracker by CaseWorthy to turn Meals on Wheels data into a peer-reviewed contribution on senior nutrition outcomes. For Maryland aging providers working the LRM roadmap, it is a clean example of what well-governed data plus a research partnership can produce.
Social Security Insolvency Could Cut Maryland Benefits by $523. Southern Maryland Chronicle, June 4. Projection on average monthly benefit reductions if Congress takes no action, which provides useful context for AAAs fielding income-security questions.
HUD Releases FY 2026 Continuum of Care NOFO. National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO), June 2. A field-side read of the NOFO with implementation considerations for housing authorities and CoC collaborators.
Maryland Medicaid Check-In Campaign Launches. Maryland Department of Health, June 1. Statewide outreach to help members navigate federal H.R. 1 eligibility changes, with shared resources for community partners doing eligibility and case management work.
QUICK POLL
Where Is Your Organization on Artificial Intelligence Adoption?
A. Not yet. We are watching before we act.
B. Exploring pilots and drafting governance.
C. Actively using AI in production workflows.
D. All in. AI is embedded across programs.
Reply with your pick and the biggest AI question keeping you up at night.
Questions or feedback? Questions or feedback? Please reach out to us! Thanks for the work you do across Maryland.
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