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July 29, 2026

Media Contact:
Amanda Hils, Assistant Director for Media Relations, [email protected]​

Maryland Department of Health marks one-year milestone for Children's Behavioral Health Roadmap
Joins partners to highlight progress and work ahead

Baltimore, MD — Marking a key milestone, the Maryland Department of Health today recognized the one-year anniversary of its comprehensive initiative, the Roadmap to Strengthen Maryland’s Public Behavioral Health System for Children, Youth and Families. The Department joined its many partners to celebrate the momentum in meeting the needs of Marylanders and to outline the important next steps in realizing the plan’s full potential. Over the past year, the Department strengthened the behavioral health workforce, expanded community-based services and improved clinician training to better support children and families in crisis.

“One year into our Roadmap implementation, I’m incredibly proud of the progress to build a more connected and responsive behavioral health system for Maryland’s children and families,” said Maryland Health Secretary Dr. Meena Seshamani. “These achievements represent our fundamental commitment to improving the health and well-being of the next generation.”

Published in July 2025, the strategic guide was developed in collaboration with Manatt Health and the Maryland Coalition of Families to address critical behavioral health crises among young people. Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that 30% of Maryland middle and high school students experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness. Suicide ranks as the third leading cause of death for young people aged 10 to 24, and the state loses over 100 youth annually to alcohol and drug overdoses.

To address these pressing challenges, the Roadmap outlines five primary objectives designed to help families and youth persevere and thrive. It details executable strategies for the Department and its collaborators, mapping out timeframes, necessary resources and successful models from other states.

Since its launch last year, the Department has worked with statewide partners to improve cross-agency collaboration, invest in the state’s specialized workforce and center the voices of youth and families in policy design.

Key implementation steps achieved over the first year include:

  • Establishing training opportunities for high-quality Mobile Response and Stabilization Services to ensure clinicians, peers and other paraprofessionals are prepared to support children, youth and families experiencing a behavioral health crisis.
  • Helping Medicaid providers identify developmental, emotional and behavioral concerns and promote early interventions with the practice of Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment
  • Targeting investments to expand and strengthen the healthcare workforce
  • Optimizing strategies to expand 1915(i) service providers focused on home- and community-based behavioral health services
"The collective progress achieved over the past year gives us much to celebrate, and we look forward to building on these successes in the coming year," said Deputy Secretary for Behavioral Health Dr. Rachel Talley. "We remain dedicated to establishing a behavioral health system that is sustainable, equitable and fully accessible for every child and family in Maryland. We will fulfill this commitment by introducing our new Young Adult Peer Support certification initiatives, broadening the impact of evidence-based practices and continuing to incorporate the essential insights of the families we serve."

Marylanders can view the executive summary and complete Roadmap online. For information about adolescent and children's behavioral health resources the Department provides, visit health.maryland.gov/youthbehavioralhealth.

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The Maryland Department of Health is dedicated to protecting and improving the health and safety of all Marylanders through disease prevention, access to care, quality management and community engagement.

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