Posted on February 20, 2026
How innovation and advocacy keep Penn-Mar moving forward despite frozen budgets.
Gregory Miller
President/CEO Penn-Mar Human Services
Are you feeling trapped in these endless cycles of freezing days and nights? When Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this February and predicted six more weeks of winter, it felt all too familiar.
Certain aspects of routine, like waking up to the “Big Chill” every morning, can feel like the “Groundhog Day” movie theme of “eternal recurrence.” Each year at this time, our work with government legislatures over funding takes on that same repetitive rhythm. The conversations are familiar. The challenges are predictable. And too often, the outcomes are as well.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro recently delivered his 2026-27 budget address, and funding for our services will basically remain the same. That leaves little room to absorb rising costs or cost-of-living increases for our amazing workforce.
Maryland Governor Wes Moore’s FY 2027 budget reflected the financial crisis the state has been battling. It includes an overall increase of just eight-tenths of one percent, alongside nearly $900 million in targeted cuts and cost-saving measures. For providers like Penn-Mar, that means another “Groundhog Day” moment in an all too familiar funding cycle.
February and March are intense months for us. We work diligently with both state governments to keep the funding from sliding backwards and to secure every dollar needed to sustain essential services. At the same time, we are engaging our Corporate Partners to secure sponsorship revenues for our March Gala, which funds the innovations that push us beyond basic services.
There are two sides to our annual funding story.
The hard work involves our advocacy efforts to keep legislators in Annapolis and Harrisburg keenly aware that the budgeting decisions they make have a profound impact on our ability to do our life-changing work every day. We are dependent on government funding, but it is becoming more challenging to get traction when year after year the process and outcomes are unchanged.
We deeply appreciate the bipartisan support expressed by governors and legislators for the work Penn-Mar does to support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). But the frustration comes from competing with hundreds of other constituents who are also looking for critical resources. We understand that there is only so much money to go around, but the status quo in funding our services has been, frankly, exhausting.
While we remain fully committed to delivering exceptional day-to-day support, the most energizing work we do involves creating change that allows us to take greater control of our future. We refuse to remain stuck in a “Groundhog Day” cycle defined only by basic services funding.
Innovation is one of our core values. It’s transformative and serves as a key driver in our efforts to secure the outside funding needed to develop programs and services beyond the basics. These initiatives greatly enhance the quality of life for individuals with IDD and their dedicated team members.
Innovation strengthens the services we provide, enhances career tracks, and creates incentives for our team members. It’s what excites our partners, families, friends, and donors to generously support the Penn-Mar mission.
Critical to that support is the thoughtful guidance and vision of our Penn-Mar Human Services and Foundation Boards that has enabled us to grow despite routine and often disappointing “Groundhog Day” funding cycles.
If there is an “eternal recurrence” we welcome, it is our shared commitment to keep moving forward, innovating, and advocating, no matter how predictable the funding cycle may be.