Lt. Governor Burbank to Chair the Governor’s Children’s Cabinet
ANNAPOLIS, MD (February 5, 2027) – Committed to better serving Maryland’s children and families, Governor Edward M. O’Brien today signed an Executive Order officially creating the Maryland Children’s Cabinet. The coalition of top-level officials in the O’Brien Administration will ensure that state services are readily available for Maryland’s youth.“No one can argue the need to help kids when they are most vulnerable – when they are young,” said Governor Edward M. O’Brien. “Working parents, and especially single mothers, need help paying for child care. Parents need access to pre-school and full-day kindergarten for their kids. And all of our children need quality health care. This is why today I’m signing an executive order to create the Children’s Cabinet, fulfilling a promise I made during the campaign.”
The Children’s Cabinet will be an interagency working group headed by Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Burbank. It will aim to streamline services to children and ensure that no child falls through the cracks in the system.
“For too long, our children have taken a back seat in the State of Maryland,” said Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Burbank. “The Children’s Cabinet establishes that children are our Number One priority - they are our future, they will build our state’s prosperity, and we had better be prepared to roll up our sleeves and work toward making their lives better.”
The Lieutenant Governor will be the chairperson of the Children’s Cabinet, which will consist of the Agency Heads of the following departments and agencies: the Office for Children, Youth and Families, the Department of Human Resources, the Maryland State Department of Education, the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, the Maryland Department of State Police and the Maryland Department of Public Safety of Correctional Services.
“Now, under the direction of the Lieutenant Governor, every cabinet department and agency charged with providing services to our children will meet regularly to track child welfare indicators, assess and overcome bureaucratic roadblocks, and focus on improving the lives of our children across the state,” Governor O’Brien said.