Midshore Behavioral Health wins county agreement; agency outlines crisis, prevention and housing work for the Eastern Shore

Midshore Behavioral Health presented its annual report and requested a FY26 letter of agreement to serve as Queen Anne's County's core service agency for behavioral health. Commissioners approved the agreement during the May 27 meeting.

The presentation highlighted regional crisis response expansion, opioid-recovery services and youth prevention work. Katie Dilley, chief executive officer of Midshore Behavioral Health, said the agency has been integrating planning with the county health departments and focusing on the regional mobile‑crisis and 988 response network as Maryland transitions some crisis services to a fee‑for‑service reimbursement structure. Dilley noted Midshore received the fourth installment of the federal/state Opioid Response Grant to support crisis beds, safe stations and recovery houses in several Eastern Shore counties.

Queen Anne's County‑specific work described by Sarah Fagan, Midshore's Queen Anne's County point of contact and behavioral health coordinator for children and young adults, included the county's participation in the QAC Goes Purple prevention events, partnership on the local problem‑solving court, and pilot community‑support services in county public schools. Fagan said Midshore acted as a hub pilot that provided services to more than 2,800 students and families across 15 county public schools as of March 1.

Data and operations notes: Midshore presented fiscal‑year '24 administrative data showing roughly 1,655 county residents receiving mental‑health services (approximately 3% of the county population under the data snapshot) and 769 receiving substance‑use services (about 1%); the agency said FY25 figures were not yet available. Midshore also reported distribution of more than 2,000 gun locks across the Midshore region as part of a suicide‑prevention initiative and noted work to stand up a "Defeat the Heat" cooling/hydration center pilot for summer months.

Commission action: A motion to execute the letter of agreement for FY26 passed at the meeting; commissioners recorded an affirmative vote ("Aye") and asked staff to finalize the signed LOA. County staff will post the executed agreement once completed.

Why it matters: Midshore serves as a regional coordinator for behavioral‑health crisis services across the Eastern Shore. The LOA confirms local planning and funding relationships for crisis response, youth services and housing‑related continuum‑of‑care activities the agency described.