Tuesday, Governor Larry Hogan issued an executive order creating the Maryland Behavioral Health and Public Safety Center of Excellence Advisory Group.
The creation of the advisory group is a recommendation from the Commission to Study Mental and Behavioral Health in Maryland, chaired by Lt. Governor Boyd K. Rutherford. The Maryland Behavioral Health and Public Safety Center of Excellence was created via legislation passed by the Maryland General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Hogan during the 2021 legislative session.
“The creation of the Maryland Behavioral Health and Public Safety Center of Excellence Advisory Group will ensure the vital work of the Commission’s efforts to address the mental and behavioral health needs of our citizens involved in the judicial system will continue beyond our administration,” said Lt. Governor Rutherford (Governor’s press release).
According to the Governor’s press release:
The advisory group will work with the Maryland Behavioral Health and Public Safety Center of Excellence in the following manner:
- Advise on the development and implementation of the Center of Excellence’s action plan that assists in diverting those with mental illness, intellectual, and developmental disabilities from criminal justice involvement to appropriate or necessary treatment
- Support the Center of Excellence’s Sequential Intercept Model as a planning tool to strategically inform legislation, policy, planning, and funding
- Advise on potential federal funding streams that the Center of Excellence can apply for to support the center’s mission
- Advise on the creation of repositories for best practices throughout the state.
- Advise on the implementation and continuation of other appropriate duties or responsibilities that are part of the Commission to Study Mental & Behavioral Health in Maryland
Read the full press release for a list of the advisory group’s membership.
View the Executive Order.
