Maryland Manual On-Line - www.mdmanual.net

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & MENTAL HYGIENE

PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICES

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ADMINISTRATION

Dix Building, Dogwood Circle, Spring Grove Hospital Center
55 Wade Ave., Catonsville, MD 21228

In July 2014, the Mental Hygiene Administration merged with the Alcohol and Drug Administration to form the Behavioral Health Administration (Chapter 460, Acts of 2014).

The Mental Hygiene Administration originated in 1886 as the State Lunacy Commission (Chapter 487, Acts of 1886). The Commission inspected public and private institutions for the insane and advised their boards of managers. In 1922, the Commission was replaced by the Board of Mental Hygiene (Chapter 29, Acts of 1922). The Board, in turn, was superseded by the Department of Mental Hygiene in 1949 (Chapter 685, Acts of 1949). Not only was the Board of Mental Hygiene abolished in 1949, but so also were the separate governing boards of the State mental hospitals. In that year, the Department of Mental Hygiene became responsible for the custody, care, and treatment of mentally ill persons. The Department of Mental Hygiene became part of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in 1969 and subsequently reorganized as the Mental Hygiene Administration (Chapter 77, Acts of 1969). In July 2008, the Administration moved under the Deputy Secretary for Behavioral Health and Disabilities (Chapter 661, Acts of 2008).

The Administration oversees the Public Mental Health System by planning, setting policy, and allocating resources. To ensure that Marylanders receive appropriate treatment, the Administration provides mental health services in the community through core service agencies, and through State institutions (Code Health - General Article, secs. 10-201 through 10-208).

Core Service Agencies. Under authority of the Secretary of Health and Mental Hygiene, a core service agency is designated by each county government to plan, manage, and monitor the delivery of publicly funded mental health services in the county (Code Health-General Article, secs. 10-1201 through 10-1203).

State Institutions. Under the Behavioral Health Administration are five psychiatric hospitals:

The Administration also is responsible for two residential treatment centers for youth:

Mental Health Crisis Response System. Within the Mental Hygiene Administration, the Maryland Mental Health Crisis Response System formed in October 2002 (Chapter 371, Acts of 2002). The Administration consults with family members, and consumers and advocates of mental health services to develop a statewide network to respond to the current mental health crisis. To reduce threatening situations involving those needing mental health services, the network provides assistance to prevent suicides, homicides, arrests, and unnecessary hospitalizations. This assistance includes a hotline for suicide prevention, treatment referrals, telephone assistance for mental information, and even transportation of patients to emergency appointments. The network coordinates its work with core service agencies (local health departments), police, emergency medical personnel, and mental health providers.

The Executive Director of Behavioral Health heads the Admi1nistration. Certified in psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, the Executive Director is appointed by the Secretary of Health and Mental Hygiene. With the approval of the Secretary of Health and Mental Hygiene, the Executive Director of Behavioral Health is empowered to make State grants-in-aid to further community mental health services (Chapter 125, Acts of 1966). The Executive Director supervises programs receiving these grants-in-aid (Code Health - General Article, secs. 10-101 through 10-1203). Local mental health advisory committees also are authorized for each county and Baltimore City (Code Health - General Article, secs. 10-308 through 10-312).

The Administration is aided by the Behavioral Health Intergration Stakeholder Work Group, and the Maryland Advisory Council on Mental Hygiene.

The Alcohol and Drug Abuse Administration started as two separate agencies: one concerned with alcoholism and the other with addiction to narcotics. Formed in 1969, the Drug Abuse Authority was succeeded in 1971 by the Drug Abuse Administration (Chapter 404, Acts of 1969; Chapter 29, Acts of 1971). The Division of Alcoholism Control of the former Mental Health Administration became the Alcoholism Control Administration in 1976 (Chapter 746, Acts of 1976). By departmental reorganization in 1987, the Drug Abuse Administration and the Alcoholism Control Administration merged to become the Addictions Services Administration. In 1988, the Administration received its present name (Chapter 758, Acts of 1988; Code Health-General Article, Title 8). It was placed under Behavioral Health and Disabilities in July 2008.

The Administration develops and regulates programs to prevent and treat the misuse of alcohol and drugs. Education, training, and research on substance abuse is conducted by the Administration, which also provides substance abuse grants to local health departments and private providers, such as hospitals and nonprofit organizations in Maryland.

Functions of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Administration were carried out by Statewide Projects, and five divisions: Information Technology; Management Services; Quality Assurance; Recovery-Oriented System of Care; and Research.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DIVISION

Within the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Administration, the Information Technology Division started as the Management Information Services Division, and reformed as the Information Services Division in 2004. It reorganized as the Information Technology Division in January 2011.

The Division collects, processes, and reports statistical information related to patterns in alcohol and drug abuse, and assessment of treatment programs; and assists other divisions with data, research, and computerized information systems. All certified providers of public and private treatment and DWI assessors report monthly data to the Division. The Administration's website is maintained by the Division, which also publishes reports and newsletters.

MANAGEMENT SERVICES DIVISION

The Management Services Division awards and monitors funds for substance abuse treatment and prevention statewide. Further, the Division manages internal operations for the Administration, prepares the agency budget and develops the annual federal block grant application.

This division is responsible for Federal Block Grants; Fiscal Services Section; and Grants Section.

GRANTS SECTION
The Grants Section began as the Grants Management Division. In 1994, it became Administration and Grants Management, and Grants and Contract Management Division in 1998. It reformed as the Grants and Contracts Management Section in 2001, and the Grants Section in January 2011.

This section awards and monitors Administration monies for substance abuse treatment and prevention. Grants are received by local health departments, government agencies and private companies. As the Administration's fiscal agent, the Section works closely with the Fiscal Services Administration, and with the Program Cost and Analysis Division of the Budget Management Office of the Department.

QUALITY ASSURANCE DIVISION

Some functions of the Quality Assurance Division originated as the Policy, Planning, and Development Division, which became the Policy and Program Development Division in 1994. That division merged with Continous Quality Improvement to form the Quality Assurance Division in 2002.

Substance abuse prevention and treatment services funded by the Administration are evaluated by the Division for quality, effectiveness, and compliance with regulations. With the data collected by its compliance units, the Division helps plan for service expansion and enhancements, as well as regulatory actions and legislative initiatives. The Division also investigates regulatory violations and recommends corrective actions. In addition, the Division is responsible for promulgating and updating those regulations concerning addiction services found in the Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR).

RECOVERY-ORIENTED SYSTEM OF CARE DIVISION

The Recovery-Oriented System of Care Division oversees Access to Recovery, Regional Services, and Technology Transfer.

REGIONAL SERVICES
Regional Services formed as the Regional Field Services Division. Renamed the Treatment and Field Services Division in 1994, and as the Treatment Services Section in 1998, it combined with the Prevention Services Section to form Regional Services in 2002. In January 2011, Regional Services moved from the Community Services Division to the Recovery-Oriented System of Care Division.

To coordinate addiction treatment services, Regional Services serves as liaison between local and State government agencies. To prevent alcohol and drug addiction, Regional Services works with the Office for Children, Youth, and Families; the State Department of Education; the Department of Human Resources; and the Department of Transportation to fund, develop, implement, and monitor government agency strategies.

TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER

RESEARCH DIVISION

Within the Alcohol and Drug Administration, the Research Division oversees the Prescription-Drug Monitoring Program.

PRESCRIPTION-DRUG MONITORING PROGRAM
Under the Research Division, the Prescription-Drug Monitoring Program began in October 2011 (Chapter 166, Acts of 2011). The Program gathers electronic data on the prescribing of certain drugs to prevent them from being diverted to nonmedical uses.

STATEWIDE PROJECTS

In January 2011, Statewide Projects assumed oversight of Justice Services, and Women's Services.

Local public and private programs that develop services for adolescents, women, women with infants and children, and pregnant women are assisted and monitored by Statewide Projects.

JUSTICE SERVICES
In 1987, Justice Services began as the Criminal Justice Division under the former Addictions Services Administration. Later, it became the Criminal Justice Section, and in 2004 Justice Services under the Community Services Division.

Justice Services coordinates all evaluations of criminal defendants for drug and alcohol abuse, and all commitments for evaluation or treatment made by circuit courts and district courts (Code Health-General Article, secs. 8-505 through 8-507). It also coordinates all education and treatment for those convicted of driving while intoxicated (DWI). Justice Services works closely with the Division of Parole and Probation, the Division of Correction, the Administrative Office of the Courts, the Motor Vehicle Administration, and local health departments.

EASTERN SHORE HOSPITAL CENTER

P. O. Box 800
Route 50, Cambridge, MD 21613 - 0800

Eastern Shore Hospital Center began in 1912 as Eastern Shore State Hospital (Chapter 187, Acts of 1912). Built on the banks of the Choptank River, the Hospital admitted its first patients in 1915. In 1973, it was renamed Eastern Shore Hospital Center (Chapter 740, Acts of 1973). In August 2001, the original hospital was replaced by a new 80-bed facility in Cambridge.

The Center provides comprehensive psychiatric care for patients with mental illness who reside on the lower Eastern Shore. The facility is licensed for a daily capacity of 76 patients (Code Health - General Article, sec. 10-406).

THOMAS B. FINAN HOSPITAL CENTER

[photo, Thomas B. Finan Hospital Center, 10102 Country Club Road, Cumberland, Maryland] P. O. Box 1722
10102 Country Club Road, Cumberland, MD 21502 - 1722

Opened in October 1978, the Thomas B. Finan Hospital Center is a multi-purpose psychiatric facility which serves Allegany, Frederick, Garrett and Washington county residents of all ages with mental illnesses (Code Health - General Article, sec. 10-406). Services extend as well to youth from Carroll, Howard and Montgomery counties.

Thomas B. Finan Hospital Center, 10102 Country Club Road, Cumberland, Maryland, July 2006. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

The Center is staffed to accommodate and treat 72 adult and 24 geriatric patients, and 23 adolescents in small, 25-bed cottages. It also includes three cottages that house treatment programs for addicts. These are operated by the Allegany County Health Department. The one-cottage Massie Unit, licensed by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to the County Health Department, treats adults who abuse drugs and alcohol. The two-cottage Jackson Unit, licensed by the Department of Juvenile Justice to the County Health Department, treats juveniles with substance abuse problems or children in need of supervision. Another cottage is leased to Archway Station, Inc., as a 16-bed rehabilitation apartment complex.

CLIFTON T. PERKINS HOSPITAL CENTER

P. O. Box 1000
8450 Dorsey Run, Jessup, MD 20794 - 1000

The Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center is the State's only maximum security hospital. Formally established in 1959 as Maximum Security Hospital, it was placed under the Department of Mental Hygiene. In April 1960, the Hospital was renamed to honor Dr. Clifton T. Perkins, Commissioner of Mental Hygiene from 1950 to 1959 (Chapter 814, Acts of 1959). Dr. Perkins had planned and defined the function of the Hospital but died before it opened early in 1960. In 1973, the Hospital became the Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center (Chapter 740, Acts of 1973).

Patients referred by the courts of Maryland for pretrial psychiatric evaluation are treated by the Center. It is a residence for individual offenders who have been found not guilty by reason of insanity. The Center also serves as a hospital for prisoners who become mentally ill and require involuntary psychiatric hospitalization. Prisoners are committed to the Center for an indefinite length of time and only can be released upon the authorization of a judge. From other State psychiatric hospitals, the Center also accepts patients whose illness requires maximum security treatment for a period of time. The Center is funded to serve a daily average of 250 patients (Code Health - General Article, sec. 10-406).

SPRING GROVE HOSPITAL CENTER

Wade Ave., Catonsville, MD 21228
[photo, Bland Bryant Building, Spring Grove Hospital Center, Catonsville, Maryland] Spring Grove Hospital Center is the oldest hospital for the mentally ill in Maryland, and the third oldest in the United States. It was established in 1797 in Baltimore at Monument Street and Broadway, the site where the Johns Hopkins Hospital later would be constructed (Chapter 102, Acts of 1797). First authorized as a "common State hospital" (the first public hospital in Maryland), it originally came under the auspices of the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, and was run by private physicians. In 1834, however, the State assumed its control and called it the Maryland Hospital. It was renamed the Maryland Hospital for the Insane in 1838, and moved to its present site at Catonsville in 1872. Renamed Spring Grove State Hospital in 1912 (Chapter 187, Acts of 1912), it became Spring Grove Hospital Center in 1973 (Chapter 740, Acts of 1973).

Bland Bryant Building, Spring Grove Hospital Center, Catonsville, Maryland, April 2003. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

[photo, Foster Wade Building, Spring Grove Hospital Center, Catonsville, Maryland] With 295 inpatient beds and 62 assisted-living beds, the Center provides acute, subacute and long-term psychiatric care to adult and geriatric patients from Baltimore City, and Baltimore and Harford counties. For those jurisdictions, the Center also conducts evaluations to determine competency to stand trial and criminal responsibility (Code Health - General Article, sec. 10-406).

Foster Wade Building, Spring Grove Hospital Center, Catonsville, Maryland, April 2003. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

SPRINGFIELD HOSPITAL CENTER

[photo, Springfield Hospital Center, Sykesville, Maryland] 6655 Sykesville Road, Sykesville, MD 21784

Springfield Hospital Center originated as the Second Hospital for the Insane of the State of Maryland authorized in 1894 (Chapter 231, Acts of 1894). The Hospital opened for patients in July 1896. Renamed Springfield State Hospital in 1900 (Chapter 70, Acts of 1900), it became Springfield Hospital Center in 1973 (Chapter 740, Acts of 1973).

Springfield Hospital Center, Sykesville, Maryland, August 2006. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

A regional psychiatric facility, the Center admits patients from northern Baltimore City and Carroll, Howard and Montgomery counties, as well as mentally ill deaf patients statewide. The Center is the largest State facility for the care of persons with mental illness, with a licensed capacity of 522 beds. (Code Health - General Article, sec. 10-406).

OFFICE OF ADULT SERVICES

For adults and seniors, Adult Services develops, oversees, and monitors community-based mental health programs and services. It also designs and develops specialized programs and services for youth transitioning into adulthood; seniors continuing to live in their own homes; individuals in State hospitals; and adults who have sustained a traumatic brain injury.

OFFICE OF CHILD & ADOLESCENT SERVICES

Child and Adolescent Services formed in 1984 to oversee and coordinated mental health services for children and adolescents within the Public Mental Health System. It also is responsible for two residential treatment centers for youth: the Regional Institutes for Children and Adolescents in Baltimore and Rockville.

REGIONAL INSTITUTE FOR CHILDREN & ADOLESCENTS - BALTIMORE
605 South Chapel Gate Lane, Baltimore, MD 21229

In 1958, the Regional Institute for Children and Adolescents - Baltimore opened. Formerly on the grounds of Rosewood State Hospital in Baltimore County, the Institute moved to southwest Baltimore, near the U.S. National Cemetery, in the early 1970s.

The Institute provides intensive inpatient and outpatient psychiatric care and educational services for youths between ages 12 to 18 with serious emotional illnesses. It serves adolescents from Baltimore City and Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties. Licensed to treat up to 45 inpatients, the Institute in Fiscal Year 2011 served a daily average of 37 residential patients and 55 outpatients.

JOHN L. GILDNER REGIONAL INSTITUTE FOR CHILDREN & ADOLESCENTS - ROCKVILLE
15000 Broschart Road, Rockville, MD 20850

In 1980, the Regional Institute for Children and Adolescents - Rockville received its first patients. On May 9, 2001, the Institute was renamed for its founding chief executive officer, John L. Gildner, who died in November 1999.

The Institute provides treatment and education services to children and adolescents aged 10 to 18 years with severe emotional disabilities. Serving youth from Carroll, Frederick, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George's and Washington counties, it offers an intensive diagnostic and treatment unit, and residential and day treatment. Educational services are provided by the Montgomery County Department of Education.

The Institute is funded to serve an average daily population of 80 young people in residence and 100 children between the ages of 5 and 18 in day treatment.

OFFICE OF FORENSIC SERVICES

Within the Mental Hygiene Administration, Forensic Services is responsible for mental health services that may be court-ordered, such as pre-sentence psychiatric evaluations and competency screenings; and for evaluation and treatment of individuals to determine competency to stand trial or criminal responsibility. Forensic Services also monitors individuals found not criminally responsible for their crimes who are released conditionally into the community.

Certain functions of Maryland's sex offender registration for persons within its jurisdiction are administered by Forensic Services which conducts pre-sentence mental health assessments of those convicted of sexual abuse of a minor.

OFFICE OF PLANNING, EVALUATION, & TRAINING

The Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Training develops and oversees implementation of the Administration's annual plans for mental health services. It also prepares federal grant applications, monitors quality improvement surveys and systems, and develops and monitors training programs for the Public Mental Health System.

OFFICE OF SPECIAL NEEDS POPULATIONS

In 1991, the Mental Hygiene Administration established the Office of Special Needs Populations to oversee certain federal grants which addressed the mental health needs of certain populations. The Office became responsible for planning, coordinating, and monitoring mental health services for individuals who are incarcerated, homeless, deaf or hard of hearing, victims of natural or man-made disasters, or have co-occurring mental disorders and substance abuse issues. Later, the Office began to provide services to veterans from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars who have behavioral health needs.

Maryland Constitutional Offices & Agencies
Maryland Departments
Maryland Independent Agencies
Maryland Executive Commissions, Committees, Task Forces, & Advisory Boards
Maryland Universities & Colleges
Maryland Counties
Maryland Municipalities
Maryland at a Glance

Maryland Manual On-Line

Search the Manual
e-mail: mdmanual@mdarchives.state.md.us

? Copyright Maryland State Archives