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Mental‑health providers urge committee to restore $20M for school consortium and keep CCBHC rollout on schedule
Summary
A coalition of providers and advocates told the Appropriations Committee that a proposed $20 million cut to the Consortium for Coordinated Community Supports would reduce services to students and that delaying Maryland’s CCBHC demonstration risks losing workforce gains and federal matching dollars.
Mental‑health providers, advocates and school partners urged the Appropriations Committee to restore $20,000,000 proposed for cuts to the Consortium for Coordinated Community Supports and to proceed with the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) demonstration.
Dan Martin of the Mental Health Association of Maryland urged rejection of the $20 million reduction, warning of lost services for students and quoting state suicide and mental‑health trends: "Suicidality among Maryland youth is the fifth highest in the nation," he said, and described strong early outcomes from the consortium. Megan O'Brien of Everymind said a $20,000,000 cut "is not a technical adjustment. It's a direct reduction in support for students who are struggling right now," and argued cuts would reduce clinic and school‑based capacity and increase downstream emergency costs.
Providers described tangible outcomes from consortium investments: Everymind reported the consortium reached more than 137,000 students last year across many schools; Arundel Lodge described its behavioral‑health urgent‑care center as preventing emergency‑department use. Multiple witnesses said delaying Maryland’s CCBHC demonstration would forfeit a 65% enhanced federal Medicaid match that converts relatively modest state investments into substantially larger federal funding for services.
Representatives from advocacy groups, provider networks and schools asked the committee to amend HB392/HB392‑related BRFAA language to restore consortium funding, preserve momentum on CCBHCs and protect investments in Medicaid and school‑based supports. The committee thanked witnesses and proceeded to other panels; no immediate committee vote was recorded in the transcript.
