Partnership for Developing Children’s Behavioral Health Roadmap Announced by Maryland Department of Health

The Maryland Department of Health, in collaboration with the Maryland Coalition of Families and Manatt Health, is working on developing recommendations and a roadmap to improve the state’s public behavioral health system. The goal of this partnership is to identify steps to enhance behavioral health services for children, youth, and families in Maryland.

Maryland Health Secretary Dr. Laura Herrera Scott mentioned that investments have been made in crisis services for youth and new school-based initiatives, but there are still significant gaps in the system. The partners will be conducting a current state assessment, generating an internal report with initial recommendations, and preparing a detailed roadmap with proposed policy changes to enhance behavioral health care for children and youth by December 2024.

Deputy Secretary for Behavioral Health Alyssa Lord emphasized that the roadmap will cover all aspects of care, from prevention to high-intensity services, and will provide implementation steps to translate policy recommendations into action. The Maryland Coalition of Families is experienced in helping families navigate the behavioral health system, while Manatt Health is a renowned national policy and strategy firm that recently completed a national roadmap for addressing the behavioral health crisis among children and youth with complex conditions.

For more information on the Department’s behavioral health resources and services for children, individuals can visit health.maryland.gov/youthbehavioralhealth.