FY24: Successes: HFY 1 - Our outreach activities during HFY1 helped to increase awareness within the community, resulting in a nearly 20% increase in referrals coming directly from family members. HFY2 - Our outreach activities during HFY1 and HFY2 helped to increase awareness within the community, resulting in a 41.38% increase in referrals for the year. Challenges: HFY 1 - We continue to work with the mandated partners to address conflicts with meeting dates/times. When a mandated member is unable to attend a LCT meeting and their direct service is needed, the LCT coordinator will make direct contact with the mandated member to provide follow up support to the family. Example: Maryland Coalition of Families serves as the mandated parent advocate. When this member is unable to attend, the LCT coordinator reaches out to the mandated member to review the need and connects the member with the family. HFY2 - For FY24, 24% of the referrals received were for youth diagnosed with autism. Resources are limited in the Carroll County area for youth with autism and families often experience being placed on wait lists. Parents often struggle to find ABA providers in the immediate area. We are seeing an increasing number of Hispanic Families participating in the LCT as a resource. We believe this is because of our targeted outreach to these communities.

FY23: The LMB is represented in LCT meetings by the LCT Coordinator as well as the LMB Manager. However, the LMB Manager position had been vacant since April of 2023 therefore alternative representation was approved for the LMB by other Department of Citizen Services team members. Those team members were cross trained and assisted in action plan development and meeting facilitation. DDA only attended 25% of the HFY2 LCT meetings. We have a process with DDA where DDA staff try to attend meetings where DDA services are already utilized or may be beneficial; if that is not possible, we ensure insight/feedback on the referred youth is shared by DDA if DDA services are already utilized or may be beneficial. This situation also applies to RHS.

• Mandated Partner Agencies
• Department of Juvenile Services
• Department of Social Services
• DORS
• DDA
• Carroll County Public School
• Local Management Board
• Local Behavioral Health Authority
• Carroll County Community Partners
• Maryland Coalition of Families
• Carroll County Workforce Development
• Carroll County  Youth Service Bureau
• Potomac Case Management Services
• Life Renewal Services
• Local Behavioral Health Authority
• Catastrophic Health Planners
• E-SMART early childhood mental health System of Care
•  Carroll County Health Department Bureau of Nursing
•  Carroll Hospital Center Behavioral Health Navigation
• Carroll County Local Management Board
• Access Carroll

The Local Care Team is an inter-agency workgroup that meets with families who are experiencing multiple and intensive behavioral health challenges with their children.  The LCT listens to each family's unique situation and helps them connect to community resources and supports.  Each family participates in the creation of an Action Plan, which details specific next steps for both the family and identified community agencies.  The Local Care Team Coordinator follows up on each case, to ensure that both the family and the agencies are able to engage in the recommended services. The Local Care Team also convenes to discuss requests for Voluntary Placements.  The VPA process is facilitated by DSS, once a parent or guardian makes a request.  The Care Team meets with the family to review and discuss all available community supports, and to review the process for a possible out-of-home placement.

The Local Care Team is able to provide families with a detailed plan to address the challenging and intensive needs they are faced with.  Families meet in person with many agencies, eliminating the need to schedule and attend multiple appointments.  Many times, families have attempted to engage in services, but quickly become overwhelmed due to significant barriers.  LCT is able to strategize with and stabilize families, assisting them with addressing their barriers, and providing them a path forward.  Ultimately, many children and youth who are being considered for an out-of-home placement are able to be maintained safely in their homes, once a family has participated in a Local Care Team meeting.

Under Maryland Code (Human Services §8-407) a Local Care Team shall: 

1) be a forum for: 

    a) families of children with intensive needs to receive assistance with the identification of individual needs and potential resources to meet identified                 needs; and 

    b) interagency discussions and problem solving for individual child and family needs and systemic needs; 

2) refer children and families to: 

    a) care management entities when appropriate; and 

    b) available local and community resources; 

3) provide training and technical assistance to local agency and community partners; 

4) identify and share resource development needs and communicate with the care management entity, local core service agencies, provider networks, local management boards, and other local care teams in surrounding jurisdictions; and 

5) discuss a request for a voluntary placement agreement for a child with a developmental disability or a mental illness under § 5-525 of the Family Law Article.