Montgomery County Council Committee Meetings on Nov. 21, 2024
MARYLAND, November 21 - For Immediate Release: Wednesday, November 20, 2024
Committees will receive a briefing about efforts to increase coordination among safety-net dental providers and review Office of the Inspector General publications about the Department of Transportation, Public Information Office and the Office of Human Rights
The Health and Human Services (HHS) Committee will meet on Thursday, Nov. 21 at 9:30 a.m. to receive a briefing about the Dental Collaborative.
The members of the HHS Committee include Chair Gabe Albornoz and Councilmembers Dawn Luedtke and Laurie-Anne Sayles.
The Audit Committee will meet at 1:30 p.m. to review Office of the Inspector General (OIG) Publication 24-015: Performance Audit of Transit Services, Montgomery County Department of Transportation, OIG Publication 25-002: Office of Public Information Audit and OIG Memorandum of Investigation: Office of Human Rights Intake and Complaint Processing.
The members of the Audit Committee include Government Operations and Fiscal Policy (GO) Chair and Council Vice President Kate Stewart, Council President Andrew Friedson and Councilmember Sidney Katz.
More detail on each agenda item is provided below.
Briefing: The HHS Committee will receive a briefing about the Dental Collaborative, which is a Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) initiative to enhance coordination among safety-net dental providers. The collaborative establishes processes and referral protocols that promote seamless coordination of care and information sharing between medical and oral health safety-net providers. The collaborative aims to engage providers serving residents who do not have dental insurance. Montgomery County’s Public Health Dental Services program provides dental services to residents of all ages identified as underserved, at risk or as having special needs. Persons eligible for services are uninsured and underinsured residents who meet income guidelines. In addition, the County dental program became a credentialed Medicaid dental provider as of Fiscal Year 2023.
Review: The Audit Committee will review OIG Publication 24-015, Performance Audit of Transit Services, Montgomery County Department of Transportation. The audit of the Montgomery County Department of Transportation (DOT) is part of the OIG’s mission to increase fiscal accountability and review the efficiency and effectiveness of County programs, as well as the OIG’s commitment to identifying opportunities for the County to improve equity and inclusion. The audit focused on DOT’s Transit Services, with a concentration on services and programs aimed at meeting the transportation needs of people with disabilities and mobility issues.
The goals of the audit were to assess the administration of the Transportation Services Improvement Fund (TSIF) in accordance with County laws and regulations, evaluate the County’s progress towards meeting its goal of ensuring 5,400 County bus stops are American Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant and assess the extent to which fraud exists within the requests for disbursements from the TSIF.
Office of the Inspector General Publication OIG-25-002: Office of Public Information Audit
Review: The Audit Committee will review OIG Publication 25-002, Office of Public Information Audit. The OIG initiated this audit of the Public Information Office (PIO) as part of the office’s mandate to conduct reviews of the internal accounting process and controls used by each Executive Branch department and principal office. Beyond the risk assessment of PIO’s internal accounting and contracting processes, the review also evaluated the PIO responsibilities under Administrative Procedure 6-8, Social Media. The goals of the audit were to determine if the PIO was following their policies and procedures in listing department social media sites on the County website and ensuring naming and visual consistency across platforms. In addition, the audit evaluated the extent to which the PIO incorporates accessibility best practices into its work product.
Review: The Audit Committee will review OIG Memorandum of Investigation, Office of Human Rights Intake and Complaint Processing. The OIG initiated this review when it received a Dec. 2023 complaint alleging that the Office of Human Rights was not properly tracking contacts with the office, allegations were not being appropriately investigated and investigations were not being completed in a timely manner. The OIG investigation focused on Human Rights’ tracking of inquiries from potential complainants and its compliance with established complaint processing timelines. The investigation substantiated the allegations that Human Rights was not effectively tracking inquiries and exceeded its established timeframe for completing investigations and issuing determinations. The OIG also found that Human Rights still has not drafted policies and procedures to govern the full extent of their responsibilities or implemented mandatory training requirements or continuing education for staff, as recommended in the 2020 OIG report.
The Committee meeting schedule may change from time to time. View the current Council and Committee agendas, Council staff reports and additional information on items scheduled for Council review on the Council website.
Council and committee meetings are streamed live on the Council’s web page via YouTube and on Facebook Live and can be watched on County Cable Montgomery on Xfinity/RCN 6 HD 996/1056, Fios 30, and on the CCM live stream.
Release ID: 24-409
Media Contact: Sonya Healy 240-777-7926, Benjamin Sky Brandt 240-777-7884
