Melony G. Griffith (MGG): Maryland has now is a new service corps with an option for students to learn about careers that they might not have otherwise been introduced to.

Well, I am so happy to have you here. It is such an honor to be joined by Secretary Paul Monteiro, who is a new cabinet secretary just over a year now, right, with our credible and innovative Governor Wes Moore, who came up with this concept. And I know it was highly supported by President Ferguson and members of the House and Senate.

(Secretary Paul Monteiro) Well, thank you very much for having me and giving me a chance to share with you and your network around the first in the nation program.

The Maryland Core Service Year Option is a long time vision of [Senate] President [Bill] Ferguson, who’s been pushing for Maryland Corps since at least 2015, and Governor Moore and Lieutenant Governor Miller’s vision around the servicer option for recent high school completer who need a need the time and space to find out where their passion meets their purpose and what they’re going to do after their high school career ends.

We were signed into law last April, right after I was confirmed. We started hiring and had a team in place by July and started recruiting for a cohort of at least 200 people to start serving in October. So we had two months to build a cohort and recruit employers.

So right now across the state, we have about 250 people serving in nonprofits for profits, public agencies around, around Maryland. And they serve for a 10 month term.

They’re paid a living wage, they’re full time employees of their host site employer. We supplement their experience, getting hard and soft skills with professional development.

What is your online profile say about you? What, what’s your level of financial literacy? What’s your level of civic literacy? Do you know how the General Assembly works and what a state senator does or a delegate does? And also how are you connected to each other. That we’re very much trying to build social capital by having people from different backgrounds all across the state serving together?

Even if they’re from different geographies or different background, they have this shared experience in mind, and they’ll have that wherever they go next. so we’re about halfway through the pilot year, they’ll, they’ll serve through July and we’re recruiting right now for the cohort of at least 500 people that starts in September of 2024.

(Melony) Well, thank you for that. And as you know, and we’ve been talking about this a lot. One of the greatest challenges facing health care is recruiting and retaining the workforce that we need to take care of Marylanders.

(Paul) Absolutely. The, our program is central to, I think, the governor’s vision of Maryland has to win the decade. And in order to do that, we have to invest in our people. So we are a service program that embraces the workforce angle. We’re a service program that embraces higher education for those that need it or, or desire it. We’re a service program that embraces apprenticeships. I’m, I’m pleased to say two thirds of the current cohort are in Department of Labor, recognized apprenticeship tracks, we map back the role that they’re doing to dual-recognized credentials to say on top of the money you’re earning and the experience you’re getting. What about a credential you could take with you? So you’re the most competitive version of yourself as you exit our service, your program.

Absolutely. And we hope that your, your [Maryland Hospital Association] members at least think about being a host site in the second cohort. Because we know they’re looking for talent. We are teeing up folks who are civic-minded, service-oriented, who have an earnest desire to get skills and figure out if this is the field that they, they want to participate in.

We have a very, I think, easy and accessible application. It’s not voluminous to figure out what entry level roles are available for the talent that we would bring. And all the assignments are through a match process. Even as we select people for our program, the host employer has to interview the person and say, I select that person or let me see some other candidates.

But we wanna work with your members who have those entry level roles that will be a good exposure to careers in health care. And, and in some cases, you know, especially for smaller employers or under resource employers, the Department of Service and Civic Innovation will help subsidize the cost of the stipend pay to that member because we know a lot of organizations are under-resourced, they’re doing a lot to serve under resourced communities. And so without that extra support, they couldn’t really get into the program and we wanna make sure we’re closing that gap as much as possible.

The bright line we’re using is for large employers, 50 employees, plus. We’re asking that they cover half of the stipend. The [young person] members are paid at least $15 an hour. So $12,500 towards the member stipend. And there’s a completion award that members earn. So if they finish the term of 9.5, 10 months, there’s a $6,000 completion award that the member earns that they can use toward tuition costs or they can take as a, a cash stipend, get their first apartment, get their used car, start their work life as they go on to, to do and grow into new areas for, for smaller employers.

That’s usually where the department will absorb more of the cost because the smaller employers cannot, and again, in some cases, there’s mean testing because means testing because there are large employers that are under-resourced. And so we’ll, we’ll look at a case by case basis to see, you know, what the employer can carry and then try to make up the gap as much as possible.

We have to stretch our precious general funds as far as they’re gonna go, especially in this environment. And, and I think again, employers are looking for talent and as we create a name for ourselves, as they start to see the, the caliber of people coming through the programs, I think more employers will be willing to say, I’ll put skin in the game because that is a reliable talent pipeline. And as we go, we hope that we can grow their investment there.

What types of [health care] roles can be in the Service Year Option program?

There’s such a wide range of roles that they can put, we’re looking for entry level opportunities that allow them to get an exposure to the field, gain skills to discern. Is this a field that they would want to pursue either directly into the workforce or into higher education?

To get the credentials they need to work in health care. So, we certainly look at and prioritize roles that have community experience, where you’re helping people or patients that are from backgrounds that need additional support.

But there’s really no limit to the roles that we can place them in. As long as they’re getting a meaningful experience. We don’t want them just placed, because they’re not interns, they’re not volunteers, they’re not gophers.

It’s very much supposed to be a year that starts to expose them to. This is what the, the this field looks like and the types of experiences you need to grow.

What’s the timeline for hospitals, organizations, and students?

I’m glad you asked. So for host employers, we’re coming up on the May 1st deadline for them to say at serve.maryland.gov. I’m interested in hosting two or more members at my clinic, my hospital, my organization. So there is a May 1st deadline, but the website is serve.maryland.gov or simply reach out to the department. We have a small but mighty team that is eager to hear from you.

And work through any questions folks have because we know they’re always nuances, especially in, in a field as regulated as, as health care. So we’re open for employers through May 1 and then for individuals who are maybe in high school as a senior right now and approaching graduation, not clear on what they want to do next, the priority deadline is May 15th for the application. Not a final deadline, but the the priority deadline is May 15th for individuals wishing to serve in the program.

(Melony) Excellent. And I think I heard you say you’re looking for 500 in the next cohort.

(Paul) That’s the floor. So it has to be at least 500 members. The enabling legislation has us growing to 2,000 members by 2026. So we’re trying to basically double every year as we get to 2,000.

(Melony) Excellent. So hospitals, family members, if you have a student that is looking for a learning opportunity through service, this is the program for you, for our hospitals, for our members. If you’re interested in giving an opportunity and helping to recruit a workforce that can help serve the field today and tomorrow, please call service. What’s the website again?

(Paul) The website is serve.maryland.gov and Maryland is spelled out. So serve.maryland.gov, serve.maryland.gov.

(Melony) And as always, if you’re interested in a career in health care, you can visit our website JoinMdHealth.org as well. Thanks for watching.