Mr. Rice currently serves as Director for the Office of Grants Management (OGM) at the Maryland Department of Human Resources (DHR) – "Maryland's Human Services Agency". He most recently served as Special Assistant in the Office of the Secretary at DHR. DHR-OGM administers and provides oversight for statewide domestic violence efforts through the Victims of Crime Assistance Program, the Domestic Violence Program, and Rape Crisis and Sexual Assault Program. Community Based (i.e., Father-focused) and Homeless and Transitional Service programs are also administered by OGM. DHR is an OFA Responsible Fatherhood Program grantee.

Mr. Rice formerly served as Chief Operating Officer for Communities Organized To Improve Life, Inc. an historic community development corporation located in Southwest Baltimore City. Prior to joining COIL he served as Chief Operating Officer and Director of the nationally recognized Men's Services Program for the Center for Urban Families (CFUF). While at CFUF he assisted in developing a partnership with the House of Ruth Maryland Gateway Project, one of the first in the nation between a Responsible Fatherhood oriented service provider and an Abuser Intervention Program (AIP). More recently Mr. Rice served on the Family and Relationship Panel for the National Domestic Violence Hotline’s Decade for Change Summit and served as national faculty for the first Institute on Fatherhood, Visitation, and Domestic Violence for Supervised Visitation Grantees sponsored by the Family Violence Prevention Fund.

He holds Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Criminal Justice from the University of Baltimore with a specialization in Corrections. In the past Mr. Rice served as an Adjunct Faculty member in the University of Baltimore’s Division of Criminology, Criminal Justice and Forensic Studies. He is currently pursuing Doctor of Public Health degree at Morgan State University and is anticipated to complete all requirements by May 2009.

Additional:

Mr. Rice's past employment experience covers a great cross-section of diverse areas.  While employed as a foster care worker for Baltimore City Department of Social Services Mr. Rice was given the task of reunification of families. He would often assist in devising treatment plans for parents in efforts to strengthen the fragile family unit. As an Addictions Counselor III within the Maryland correctional system, Mr. Rice worked with incarcerated inmates teaching classes in Moral Problem Solving and Relapse Prevention. Working in corrections exposed Mr. Rice to low-income non-custodial fathers who were in need of a comprehensive array of support services (i.e. ongoing substance abuse treatment, domestic violence counseling, child support arrearage issues, and access and visitation concerns). He actively pursued resources to meet the fathers’ needs. He is married and is the proud parent of two children.