In the dwindling days of the 2024 legislative session, the administration’s assisted-outpatient treatment bill underwent numerous changes before crossing the finish line. Check out the new authorization and deadlines for counties looking to move forward with their own programs locally.
Maryland became the 49th state to authorize the use of court-ordered treatment for individuals found to have a serious and persistent mental illness. The bill, HB 576/SB 453, was sponsored by the Moore-Miller administration and joined by 70 bi-partisan sponsors in the House and another 15 in the Senate. Provisions of the bill allow for a local government to establish an assisted-outpatient treatment program or defer the required establishment to the Maryland Department of Health. Locally, Frederick, Montgomery, and Cecil County Governments supported the bill in addition to MACo’s position. Additionally, county professionals shared their support as well including associations for the police chiefs and sheriffs, the county health officers, and the local detention centers.
Timeline and Outlook for Counties
Counties have to inform the State of their intent to establish an assisted-outpatient treatment program in the next 8 months – by January 1, 2025. They will then have another 18 months to make the program operational – by July 1, 2026. The bill additionally authorizes counties to establish these program in collaboration with each other. For instance, Montgomery and Frederick are neighboring counties and both weighed in with various levels of support for the bill. If the interest from these jurisdictions translates to action, they could pool resources to produce a program together. Initial cost estimates from the Maryland Association of County Health Officers (MACHO) projected annual fees to be as low as $250,000 for medium jurisdictions and up to $5M annually for large jurisdictions. Actual costs hinge on the number of petitions filed in each jurisdiction and the Department of Legislative Services advised in the fiscal note that the number cannot be reliably determined at this time.
What Counties Need from the State
With this new authority, any county looking to establish a local program is required to abide by regulations set by the Maryland Department of Health. Additionally, the FY2025 budget included $3M to the Behavioral Health Administration in the Maryland Department of Health for the establishment of these programs statewide. For counties to make an informed decision in the next 8 months, the standards for accessing available state funding, and additional parameters not set forth in the bill, will need to be made available to those jurisdictions in the next couple months.
Read the final bill text for HB 576/SB 453.
