County approves $3.75 million in substance-use treatment, prevention and recovery subrecipient agreements

The Commissioners of St. Mary's County on May 5 approved a set of subrecipient agreements totaling $3,746,369 to fund substance-use treatment, prevention and recovery services across the county.

The awards, presented by Lori Jennings-Harris of the Department of Aging and Human Services and program staff Matt Riesdorf and Kathleen O’Brien of Walden Sierra, fund residential and outpatient treatment, recovery support services and prevention programs including work in schools and community coalitions.

County officials said the package bundles state and federal treatment and recovery grants. "Walden Sierra provides the majority of our treatment services," Riesdorf said in the meeting, describing three treatment grants, recovery-support grants and a residential role for Walden Sierra. He said a new provider, Step Into Recovery, will provide outpatient services under the agreements.

Kathleen O’Brien, chief executive officer of Walden Sierra, described how treatment programs track relapse and service needs. "On the treatment side, it's not considered recidivism because it's not a criminal justice issue. It's considered a public health issue for treatment, but we do keep track of how many relapses there are and what kind of level of treatment they've had and what else is needed to intervene," O’Brien said.

Commissioners and presenters discussed the shift in funding and delivery for outpatient services. Presenters said an administrative service organization model and fee-for-service reimbursement will replace some grant funding, requiring providers to establish billing and administrative systems. County representatives said Walden Sierra is already accredited and prepared to make that transition but that smaller nonprofits nationally have faced cash-flow and billing challenges.

Speakers also addressed prevention and coordination. Riesdorf and health-system partners described school-based prevention work, community mobilizing efforts to reduce underage access to alcohol and a regional overdose-prevention group that includes the sheriff’s office, the hospital, Walden Sierra and school officials. Presenters said same-day access to treatment has eliminated the wait list in St. Mary's County and that inpatient, outpatient and recovery housing are now available as part of a coordinated continuum.

A motion to approve and authorize the commission president to execute the subrecipient agreements (project numbers cited in the motion: MD1659, 1697, and US1655 with Walden Sierra; US1623 with St. Mary's Hospital; and MD1697 with Step N2 Recovery Services LLC) passed by voice vote.

Clarifying details captured in the meeting packet and discussion include the total award amount ($3,746,369), description of recipients (Walden Sierra, St. Mary's Hospital, Step Into Recovery), and presenters' statements that Walden Sierra provides residential services for drug court and recovery-support services. Presenters also said the county eliminated the treatment wait list and performed roughly 4,000 assessments last year (as stated in the meeting). The packet lists the subrecipient project numbers cited in the motion.

Commissioners thanked providers and asked for continued coordination with state task forces and regional partners to preserve residential capacity and to maintain prevention and early-intervention work in schools. The meeting record shows the motion carried; no roll-call vote tally by name was recorded in the transcript.

Next steps noted in the meeting: execution of the subrecipient agreements and continuation of data-sharing and coordination with state and regional opioid response initiatives. The presenters offered to provide more detailed outcome and length-of-stay data on request.