The self-inflicted non-fatal injury hospitalization rate has seen a dramatic increase from 2008 to 2013. The 2008 Calvert County self-inflicted injury hospitalizationrate was 57.1 per 100,000 children. The most recent self-inflicted injury hospitalization rate was 79.2 per 100,000 children.

Calvert County has seen a large increase in psychiatric hospitalizations for youth aged 13 to 17 years from 37 in 2011 to 70 in 2013. The 2013 Calvert County psychiatric hospitalization count is much higher than the other Southern Maryland jurisdictions: 40 in Charles County and 47 in St Mary’s County. The Calvert County Public School’s 2015 Student Services Report indicates the vast majority of enrollment for CHIPS & Home/Hospital Teaching is for psychiatric hospitalization at Calvert Memorial Hospital, with a dramatic increase of 57 students in 2013-14 school year to 95 students in 2014-15.

In a recent needs assessment, community leaders and stakeholders voiced concerns that the county’s healthcare infrastructure does not support the needs of county families. Families must travel an hour or more to access specialists. This creates a logistical challenge for parents, including difficulties arranging transportation and child care. The barriers to accessing behavioral health services also include a lack of psychiatric providers and targeted programs that will work with adolescents, especially those privately and under-insured. According to Calvert Memorial Hospital's online Disparities Dashboard which uses data from the 2014 American Community Survey, transitional age-youth, 18 to 24, make up the lowest insured population by age, with 15.3% without health insurance. Additionally another disparity according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s 2016 County Health Rankings is the ratio of the population to mental health providers – Calvert County is 520:1, versus the Maryland ratio which is 470:1. In focus groups and in Local Coordination Team meetings this past year, providers have expressed concern over having to turn away youth that weren't eligible to receive treatment for mental health due to private insurance - either their insurance is not accepted by local providers or they are underinsured with high deductibles for mental health services.

• Tri-County Youth Services Bureau
• Calvert County Health Department
• Calvert County Public Schools
• Calvert Alliance Against Substance Abuse
• Calvert County HIPPY/Healthy Families
• Calvert's Local Coordination Team
• United Way of Calvert County

In 2015, the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IOPPN) at King's College London, Duke University and the University of California published the results of a longitudinal study of disconnected youth, outlining the psychological challenges that put them at a disadvantage for employment. The study recommends "young people are better supported by mental health services as they make this challenging transition from school to employment, and that they be trained in professional 'soft' skills which could help them in the search for employment."

The following are recommended supports:

• Therapeutic interventions like cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectic therapy and motivational interviewing techniques
• Youth development programs, with evidence based curriculums like Second Step and Reconnecting Youth Curriculums
• Providing therapeutic supports at home/at school to reduce transportation challenges
• Decreasing the number of prescribed opiates to reduce teenage access
• Reducing mental health stigma with awareness campaigns
• Wraparound support for families
• Youth engagement in strategic planning efforts

• Youth Intervention & Engagement - Tri-County Youth Service Bureau's therapeutic interventions addessing mental health needs, peer led groups to build soft skills and resiliency, case management, and psychoeducational curriculum for families.
• Early Intervention - BRIDGE (Building Resiliency from Infancy through Development, Growth, & Empowerment), a tiered behavioral health service array for children 0-5 and families in Southern Maryland
• Healthy Families/HIPPY targeted interventions and maternal depression screenings for new parents and/or those with multiple risk factors such as substance use or mental health issues.
• Health Department's school-based behavioral health counseling - integrating substance use and mental health counseling