Caroline County commissioners renew Midshore Behavioral Health agreement, citing program reach

Caroline County commissioners voted unanimously May 13 to approve a FY2026 core service agency letter of agreement with Midshore Behavioral Health after the agency presented a year-end report on local programs and service reach.

Midshore Chief Executive Officer Katie Dilley told the commissioners the organization provides regional behavioral health services, manages the regional homeless services hub, and coordinates specialized programs including the problem-solving court, forensic mental-health teams and school-based services. “May is Mental Health Awareness Month,” Dilley said during her presentation, describing Midshore’s role across five counties and the organization’s efforts to expand services in Caroline County.

The renewal keeps Midshore as the county’s designated core service agency; commissioners placed the agreement on the consent agenda and then approved it by motion. The vote was recorded as unanimous in the public meeting.

Why it matters: Midshore’s county-level role includes convening providers, administering state and federal grants, managing reporting requirements for funded programs and acting as a routing point for regional behavioral-health initiatives. County officials said Midshore’s coordination is important given limited local staff capacity in some agencies.

In the presentation, Midshore and its staff highlighted Caroline County results and local initiatives. Anne Simpers, Midshore behavioral health coordinator, said Midshore served 2,369 people for mental-health services in Caroline County and 1,050 for substance-use services during the most recent reporting period; she said those figures represented roughly 7% and 3% of the county population, respectively. Midshore also reported it is taking part in a federally supported hub pilot to expand behavioral-health services into public schools for FY2026.

Midshore representatives described local programs the commissioners heard about earlier in the meeting, including the county problem-solving court, a Safe Station peer program, the Project Chesapeake intensive outpatient program (opened March 24, 2025), and the organization’s role as administrator for the Drug Free Caroline Coalition. Midshore noted recent program accomplishments: hosting graduations from its problem-solving court, national certification for the team, and a best-practice compliance rating of 95.6%.

Commissioners asked about homelessness and how Midshore coordinates with other providers. Midshore and health-department officials described a regional point-in-time count that, Midshore said, found 95 people experiencing homelessness in the county on the survey date — 79 sheltered and 16 unsheltered — and explained that the count is required for certain federal homeless assistance funding and is sensitive to weather and visibility constraints.

During follow-up discussion, commissioners asked whether Midshore helps community groups apply for state or federal grants and how funding is allocated across the five-county region. Dilley said Midshore provides application and procurement support and that much of its program funding is federal or state money that is distributed to local providers through competitive processes.

The board approved the FY2026 letter of agreement by motion and voice vote. The motion and second were recorded during the public meeting; the commissioners said “aye” and the chair declared the motion unanimously approved.

The county will accept a related annual agreement (the local drug and alcohol council administration memorandum) at a subsequent meeting, Midshore staff told the commissioners.

Ending: Midshore asked the board to endorse its FY2026 planning materials; commissioners said Midshore’s packet would be added to the consent agenda and staff would follow up with the outstanding annual agreement paperwork.