Prince George’s County names Jennifer Amaya Thompson social services director, outlines first 100 days

Jennifer Amaya Thompson inherited one of Prince George’s County’s most consequential public agencies at a moment when residents are leaning on it for help with food, cash assistance, medical coverage and child welfare. The county’s Department of Social Services said Thompson, a master of social work, began leading the agency on Jan. 7, and by April 17 the county was already using her first 100 days to show how she intends to manage a department with more than 500 employees, a combined budget of more than $70 million and service buildings in Landover, Hyattsville and Temple Hills.

That footprint reaches into the daily lives of families across a county that spans almost 500 square miles and borders Washington, D.C. Prince George’s County social services pages list programs that include Temporary Cash Assistance, Food Supplement Program, Medical Assistance, Emergency Assistance, and Foster Care and Adoption Service, underscoring that Thompson is stepping into a job tied to basic survival as much as case management.

The county says Thompson was chosen after an extensive, collaborative search approved by the Maryland Department of Human Services secretary and the Prince George’s County executive, with advice from the Social Services Advisory Board. County bio material says she brings more than 25 years of public service experience across federal, state, tribal and community levels, and the salary range posted for the director role was $111,484 to $164,736, with potential growth to $185,523.

Her early agenda suggests the department is trying to operate more like a front-line crisis network than a back-office bureaucracy. The county says Thompson created a Community Affairs Latino Liaison position, worked with Gov. Wes Moore and Comptroller Brooke Lierman on outreach for the Maryland Earned Income Tax Credit, and coordinated with emergency management officials during major winter storms. She also hosted a tabletop exercise on immigration activity preparedness with state and county partners.

The department says Thompson participated in more than 330 meetings in less than 90 days, a pace that signals how much relationship-building the job demands. It also says she has begun supporting families affected by deportation by working with faith-based and community groups on resources and next-of-kin placement for children, a reminder that social services in Prince George’s County often intersects with immigration stress, housing instability and child welfare at the same time.

The agency’s work also folds into the county’s Safer Stronger Together initiative, which links human services, juvenile services and public safety. Thompson’s arrival follows the departure of Gloria Brown Burnett, who left the county post in 2024 to become Maryland DHS deputy secretary of operations after a 14-year run that the state says covered 600 employees across 15 sites serving 900,000 Prince Georgians. For residents trying to reach the agency now, the county lists its main office at 805 Brightseat Road in Landover and provides customer service at 301-909-7000 and 1-800-332-6347.