The Baltimore County Bureau of Mental Health is a unit of the Health Department that in addition to receiving local funding for its operations, has been designated by the Maryland Mental Hygiene Administration as a Core Service Agency. This means that the Bureau functions as the mental health authority for the administration of state funded services for people with mental illness residing in Baltimore County.
The Bureau of Mental Health/Core Service Agency is located on the third floor of the Drumcastle Government Center, 6401 York Road, Baltimore, MD 21212. Program staff at this location administer publicly funded clinical, rehabilitative, and crisis mental health services within this jurisdiction. A complementary number of staff supports these administrative functions. The Bureau is open five days per week, Monday–Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. Bureau personnel may be reached by phone at 410-887-2731 or by fax at 410-887-4859.
The Bureau's target population is Baltimore County's seriously and persistently mentally ill men and women and seriously emotionally disturbed children. Approximately 2 percent of people nationwide have a serious and persistent mental illness and about 11,700 Baltimore County residents with a serious mental illness were served by the Public Mental Health System in Fiscal Year 2005.
All direct mental health services administered by the Bureau are provided by contracted providers, with the exception of a very limited amount of general case management from the adult services team. The array of services available to Baltimore County citizens has broadened significantly over the past two years to include over 400 providers. These services include rehabilitation and residential programs, outpatient clinics, mobile treatment, case management, geriatric services, after-school programs, respite services, crisis services, homeless support services, and psychiatric emergency services.
In Fiscal Year 1999, most of the Bureau's grant funded programs transitioned to a fee-for-service system within a managed care environment. Successful implementation of this change has produced a service system providing the most appropriate level and intensity of care to consumers to produce the best clinical outcomes. To access mental health services in Baltimore County, contact MAPS-MD, Maryland's Administrative Service Organization (ASO) for intake and referral to services funded by Medical Assistance for the Public Mental Health System at 1-800-888-1965. For a complete list of providers who serve the Baltimore County region contact MAPS-MD at the same number or visit their web site and use the Provider Directory to locate the nearest mental health care provider.
Bureau of Mental Health/Core Service Agency Bureau Chief and Program Managers
Robert Blankfeld, Bureau Chief
Dan DeBold, Adult Services
Lee Ohnmacht, Administrative Services
Ari Blum, Child and Adolescent Services
Carol Morgan, Quality Assurance
Revised July 18, 2007
Courthouse 