Maryland is facing a housing affordability crisis, and Marylanders, especially families with children are struggling to make ends meet. Legislators can provide immediate relief to struggling families by fully funding the Community Schools Rental Assistance Program (CSRAP), which provides eviction prevention funds to families with children in Community Schools. CSRAP is the only State supported rental assistance program. Evictions hurt kids the most, and fully funding CSRAP will help to ensure we keep children out of poverty, and leave no Marylander behind.

Join the Maryland Eviction Prevention Funds Alliance (MEPFA) and Renters United Maryland (RUM) in calling on the legislature and the Governor to provide $25 million to CSRAP in FY 2027 and prevent nearly 6,000 families with children from being evicted. The Governor's proposed budget only allocates $5 million for this essential program and we know this is wildly insufficient for meeting the need. Here are some quick facts about the program:

• In FY 2026, the demand for eviction prevention funds was so high that the State was only able to meet 32% of the requests. CSRAP received over 4,500 applications requesting $31 million during the eight week application window. The application portal is now closed due to the overwhelming demand.

• 70% of applicants were families headed by Black mothers making less than about $59,000 annually.

• There is no other regular source of eviction prevention funds in the State beyond CSRAP.  

• A Maryland study showed that every dollar spent on eviction prevention funds yields $2.39 to the State by reducing state-funded safety net expenses related to sheltering and educating students experiencing homelessness, providing health care, foster care costs as well as the decreased incarceration rates and the economic impacts of increased employment and income stability.

Our children cannot show up ready to learn if they spent the prior night in a homeless shelter. If Maryland is going to end childhood poverty and execute on the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, we will need additional school-based eviction prevention funds.

Update as of March 16: The Senate Budget and Taxation Committee has voted to add an additional $5 million to the budget for the Community Schools Rental Assistance Program, doubling what the Governor had initially allocated. This is a direct result of our collective organizing! We can now encourage the House to go even further by adding additional funding when they budget makes it to them. Each additional dollar allocated to this program will help keep families housed and keep kids in their schools.

Contact Governor Moore, Senate President Ferguson, House Speaker Peña-Melnyk, the House Appropriations Committee, and Senate Budget and Taxation Committee and urge them to significantly increase funding for the Community Schools Rental Assistance Program!