A collaborative working to bring assisted outpatient treatment to Maryland finally succeeded as the General Assembly passed authorizing legislation with HB 576/SB 453.
MACo advocated on behalf of authorization for local jurisdictions to establish assisted outpatient treatment (AOT) programs in the 2023 and 2024 legislative sessions. While legislation stalled last year, the 2024 session saw the passage of HB 576/SB 453, which enables local governments to establish the programs in collaboration with the circuit courts and the local health department. Additionally, to ensure the program is available statewide, lawmakers also mandated that the Maryland Department of Health initiate the program in jurisdictions that are not able to set them up locally.
Stakeholders celebrated the work of all involved on Sunday, in particular the steward of the legislation, Evelyn Burton from the Schizophrenia & Psychosis Action Alliance. Additional praise was shared for Health and Government Operations Chair Joseline Peña-Melnyk and Delegate Heather Bagnall who were instrumental in moving the bill through the legislature, along with the Maryland Department of Health and Governor Moore’s legislative team.
With implementation on the horizon, Marie Grant, Assistant Secretary for Health Policy from the Maryland Department of Health joined the Conduit Street podcast to explain all the major details of the bill and how the program works. While available in forty-seven other states it has not been authorized in Maryland until this year. In essence, it is a court process for encouraging compliance with recommended treatment for individuals with a severe and persistent mental illness. In particular for local governments, the program is shown to divert individuals away from local detention centers and emergency rooms, which are often facilities where they can not get the care they need, can exacerbate their symptoms, and put undue strain on vital resources.
