Out of home placements generally trended upward in Baltimore County from 1997 to 2010. Significant to this trend was the rising number of requests by parents to place their child with intensive needs out of home via a Voluntary Placement Agreement (VPA) through the Department of Social Services. In response to the rising VPA request numbers, during the early 2000’s, the County began developing a continuum of evidence-based programs to address the challenging behaviors of children and youth with the overarching goal of diverting them from involvement with the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Recent data indicate that out of home placements are now trending downward from a high of 10.3 in 2010 to a low of 7.3 in 2014. The LMB will continue to collaborate with its many partners to maintain and expand the continuum of evidence-based and best practice programs built over the past 13 years to continue the downward trend in out of home placements in Baltimore County.

• Catholic Charities, Inc.
• Community Solutions, Inc.
• Baltimore County Department of Health, Bureau of Behavioral Health
• Baltimore County Police Department, Police Counseling Team
• Lighthouse, Inc.
• First Step, Inc.
• Dundalk Youth Services Center
• University of MD, Institute for Innovation & Implementation
• Baltimore County Department of Social Services
• MD Department of Juvenile Services
• Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office
• Baltimore County Office of the Public Defender
• Circuit Court for Baltimore County
• Baltimore County Public Schools

Prior to 2009, Baltimore County experienced a rise in the rate of out-of-home placements. A slight decline in the rate of out-of-home placements in the past 5 years is due to continuing efforts to maximize evidence-based (EBP’s) and best practice programs that support families with children who have intensive needs. In order to maintain the downward trend, the LMB will continue to leverage current resources and to strengthen the EPB Continuum of Care to best serve youth who need OOH placement for treatment and rehabilitation.

• Multi-Systemic Therapy (funded by DJS and BHA) – Program provides juvenile delinquency and substance abuse intervention services for youth aged 12-17.
• Brief Strategic Family Therapy (funded by GOC Earned Reinvestment, Baltimore County, DJS and Catholic Charities) – Program is designed for children ages 6-12 exhibiting pre-delinquent and associated at-risk behaviors.
• Functional Family Therapy – Program provides juvenile delinquency early intervention services for youth aged 10-17 years.
• Local Access Mechanism - A family navigator provides assessment, information and referral to families searching for services to meet the needs of their child with an intensive mental health and/or developmental disability; support groups for families with children with intensive needs; and education courses to help families learn how to meet the needs of their children with intensive needs.
• Parent Child Interaction Therapy (funded by MSDE and Catholic Charities) – Developed for children 2-7 with externalizing behavior disorders, the program teaches parents specific skills to establish or strengthen a nurturing relationship with their child while encouraging pro-social behavior and discouraging negative behavior.

The number of out-of-home placements that occur per 1,000 children in the population.