Governor Larry Hogan issued an executive order yesterday that announced the creation of the Maryland Behavioral Health and Public Safety Center of Excellence Advisory Group. The recommendation for the creation of this advisory group came from the Commission to Study Mental and Behavioral Health in Maryland.
Lt. Governor Boyd K. Rutherford, chair of the Commission to Study Mental and Behavioral Health in Maryland, said this about the executive order:
“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”
The General Assembly passed legislation to establish the Maryland Behavioral Health and Public Safety Center of Excellence during the 2021 legislative session, which was later signed into law by Governor Hogan. The advisory group established through this executive order 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
The Maryland Behavioral Health and Public Safety Center of Excellence will be housed in the Governor’s Office Crime Prevention, Youth and Victims Services. According to the Governor’s press release, the center will “act as a statewide clearing house for behavioral health related treatment and diversion programs develop a strategic plan to increase treatment and reduce detention of those with behavioral health disorders in the judicial system, and provide technical support for localities to develop behavioral health support systems for those involved in the criminal justice system.”
The Lt. Governor, or designee, will chair the group, and the rest of the group will consist of:
- An appointee from the Maryland Chiefs of Police
- An appointee from the Maryland Sherriff’s Association
- An appointee from the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Maryland
- The Secretary of Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services and their appointee
- The Secretary of the Department of Health or their designee (Darren J. McGregor, Director, Office of Crisis and Criminal Justice Services, Maryland Behavioral Health Administration)
- The Executive Director of Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention, Youth, and Victim Services or appointee
- Member appointed by the Senate President
- Member appointed by the Speaker of the House
- Designee of Mental Health Association of Maryland
- A representative of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
For more information, please see the resources below.
