EASTON, MARYLAND — Annapolis opened another paid service-year door for 18- to 24-year-olds. Mid-Shore applicants apply through the Department of Service and Civic Innovation, not a Talbot County Council vote.

Gov. Wes Moore on Sept. 11, 2026, launched Class 4 of the Maryland Corps/Service Year Option program at Bowie State University, welcoming what the governor’s office calls the largest incoming class of young Marylanders into a year of paid, full-time service. The launch fell on the National Day of Service and Remembrance.

“On a day we will always remember, Maryland chooses to honor immeasurable loss with meaningful service,” Moore said. “I am struck by the fact that many of these young people were not alive when our nation faced the 9/11 tragedy. For them, it remains a history lesson. And yet, they are here—stepping up for their neighbors just as members of our community did 25 years ago. Our state is stronger for it.”

Since April 2023, the Maryland Corps/Service Year Option program — run by DSCI — has graduated more than 1,200 members hosted by more than 300 employment partners across all 24 Maryland jurisdictions, according to the governor’s release. Young adults from every region are hired by community organizations, schools, and government agencies for a year of paid service, professional development, and civic engagement.

The University of Maryland’s Do Good Institute recently released an impact evaluation of the first two classes (2023–24 and 2024–25), the governor’s office said. Members were more likely to be employed six months after completing service than when they enrolled, with a substantially larger pre-post employment increase than a Current Population Survey comparison group. Among members already employed at enrollment, hourly wages rose 57.5%, compared with 23.0% in the comparison group. Members also reported higher voter registration rates and a higher projected likelihood of voting in national elections, per the release’s summary of the evaluation.

DSCI Secretary Jonny Dorsey said the program equips young Marylanders with skills that open career pathways and strengthen communities. Building on the Youth Mental Health Corps, DSCI is expanding specialty corps offered in Class 4 to include education, technology, literacy, and health, the release said. Among the newest specialty corps is the Immigrant Opportunity Corps, established with the Governor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs to assist local immigrant families. Ampact’s Maryland programs executive director Mysiki Valentine said a partnership has recruited 56 tutors for high-impact tutoring in Cecil, Charles, and Prince George’s counties, with a plan to serve more than 1,000 Maryland students in the inaugural year of that tutoring partnership.

The program is still accepting applications for members and employment partners for Class 4. Marylanders ages 18–24 and potential host partners can apply through DSCI at serve.maryland.gov. The department’s site notes that matching between members and host site partners for Class 4 is underway and encourages applicants to submit as soon as possible.

For Talbot and Mid-Shore readers, the local map is eligibility and a host slot: ages 18–24 apply as members; nonprofits, schools, and agencies apply as employment partners. DSCI, not a county personnel board, runs the statewide matching.