{"id":145,"date":"2026-03-03T17:15:50","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T17:15:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cdiheadstart.org\/stmaryscounty\/?page_id=145"},"modified":"2026-03-19T19:48:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T19:48:19","slug":"community-resources","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/cdiheadstart.org\/stmaryscounty\/program-page\/community-resources\/","title":{"rendered":"Community Resources"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h1>\n\t\t\tCommunity Resources\t<\/h1>\n<figure itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdiheadstart.org\/stmaryscounty\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/03\/AdobeStock_1724071816.jpg\" alt=\"Boxes of Canned Food and Pantry donations with some people in the background\" height=\"1373\" width=\"2400\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t<\/figure>\n\t<p>Head Start supports the whole family, and we know every family&#8217;s needs are different. We want to connect you with trusted local resources for food, housing, health care, jobs, and other basic needs.<\/p>\n<p>If you ever need help or have questions, please reach out to your Family Advocate or program staff-we&#8217;re here to help you reach your goals.<\/p>\n<h4>\n\t\t\tMaryland Community Resources\t<\/h4>\n\t<ul>\n<li><strong>St. Mary&#8217;s County Department of Social Services (DSS)<\/strong><br \/>\nAdministers core public benefits including SNAP, medical assistance, family services, foster care, child care programs, and emergency support for county residents. <a href=\"https:\/\/dhs.maryland.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/dhs.maryland.gov\/<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>SNAP &#8211; Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Food Assistance)<\/strong><br \/>\nProvides monthly food benefits via the Maryland Independence EBT Card. Eligible households may receive expedited benefits within seven days depending on income\/resources. Apply through DSS or Maryland&#8217;s online benefits portal. <a href=\"https:\/\/dhs.maryland.gov\/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/dhs.maryland.gov\/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Employment Services &#8211; Maryland Jobs &amp; Training (DSS Employment Programs)<\/strong><br \/>\nMaryland DSS provides employment &amp; training programs, job placement support, and workforce readiness services for individuals receiving public benefits or seeking employment. <a href=\"https:\/\/mwejobs.maryland.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/mwejobs.maryland.gov<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>WIC &#8211; Women, Infants &amp; Children (Nutrition Program)<\/strong><br \/>\nProvides nutrition education, breastfeeding support, and healthy food benefits to pregnant\/postpartum individuals, infants, and children under age 5. <a href=\"https:\/\/health.maryland.gov\/phpa\/wic\/Pages\/home.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/health.maryland.gov\/phpa\/wic\/Pages\/home.aspx<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<ul>\n\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Early Childhood Services (Birth-5)<\/strong><br \/>\nSupport for developmental screenings, early childhood education, and referrals to early intervention services via Maryland&#8217;s early childhood and social service agencies. St. Mary&#8217;s DSS also supports licensed child care programs and child care subsidy applicants. <a href=\"https:\/\/earlychildhood.marylandpublicschools.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/earlychildhood.marylandpublicschools.org<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Energy, Housing &amp; Emergency Assistance<br \/>\n<\/strong>St. Mary&#8217;s County DSS provides energy assistance, emergency housing referrals, Temporary Cash Assistance, and other stabilization services.<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/dhs.maryland.gov\/office-of-home-energy-programs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/dhs.maryland.gov\/office-of-home-energy-programs\/<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdiheadstart.org\/stmaryscounty\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/03\/AdobeStock_734226819.jpg\" alt=\"A group of volunteers assembling food packages with canned goods and supplies indoors.\" height=\"1601\" width=\"2400\" title=\"A group of volunteers assembling food packages with canned goods and supplies indoors.\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t<\/figure>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Community Resources Head Start supports the whole family, and we know every family&#8217;s needs are different. We want to connect you with trusted local resources for food, housing, health care, jobs, and other basic needs. If you ever need help or have questions, please reach out to your Family Advocate or program staff-we&#8217;re here to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":35,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-145","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cdiheadstart.org\/stmaryscounty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cdiheadstart.org\/stmaryscounty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cdiheadstart.org\/stmaryscounty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cdiheadstart.org\/stmaryscounty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cdiheadstart.org\/stmaryscounty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=145"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/cdiheadstart.org\/stmaryscounty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/145\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":442,"href":"https:\/\/cdiheadstart.org\/stmaryscounty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/145\/revisions\/442"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cdiheadstart.org\/stmaryscounty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/35"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cdiheadstart.org\/stmaryscounty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}