Youth mental health services in Maryland are receiving a major boost, with more than $111 million in grants awarded to expand programs across the state. The funding, distributed by the Maryland Consortium on Coordinated Community Supports, will support a variety of initiatives, including school-based mental health services, crisis response, therapy programs, and peer support groups.
A portion of the funding is being directed to Southern Maryland, where organizations in Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary’s counties will receive nearly $9 million combined to support youth mental health efforts.
In Calvert County, seven organizations will receive a total of $2.9 million to enhance mental health services for young people. The largest grant, $900,000, will go to Calvert County Behavioral Health to provide crisis stabilization, therapy, vaping education, and transportation support. Other funded programs include mental health therapy at Pathways Inc. ($650,000), peer-supported youth programming at East-John Youth Center Inc. ($500,000), and a new smartphone app developed by Uneo Health in partnership with NAMI Maryland, Bowie State University, and AMG ($465,000) to provide self-care resources to underserved teens. Additional funding will support after-school activities at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Maryland ($175,000), therapeutic summer day camps at Barstow Acres Children’s Center ($120,000), and peer mediation and conflict resolution programs at the Community Mediation Center of Calvert County ($90,000).
In Charles County, four grants totaling $3.97 million have been awarded to expand youth mental health services. The largest grant, $2.71 million, will go to the Center for Children Inc. to provide dialectical behavioral therapy, trauma-focused counseling, and substance use treatment for high-need youth. Other recipients include the Mental Health Association of Maryland ($580,000) for mental health first aid training and awareness campaigns, Hazel Health ($550,000) for school and home-based telehealth services, and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Maryland ($130,000) for social-emotional learning and after-school programming.
In St. Mary’s County, two grants totaling $2.02 million will enhance behavioral health resources for students and families. The St. Mary’s County Health Department ($1.44 million) will use its grant to provide mental health diagnosis, treatment, and youth mentoring services through school-based health centers. The Maryland Coalition of Families ($585,000) will focus on family peer support, support groups, and resource connections to help families navigate mental health systems.
These grants are part of a larger effort to expand youth mental health resources across the state, including new initiatives under the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future. The Local News Network is covering these efforts through its special project, “Youth Mental Health: What Works?,” which is supported by a $7,500 grant from the Solutions Journalism Network’s Student Media Challenge. The project examines innovative mental health programs in Maryland’s schools and communities, with a deep dive into efforts across all 23 counties and Baltimore City.
With funding now in place, local organizations will work to implement these expanded services, aiming to provide more access to mental health care and crisis support for young people in Maryland.
