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The Consortium on Coordinated Community Supports, created under the state鈥檚 ambitious and expensive education reform plan called the Blueprint for Maryland鈥檚 Future, will receive $70 million from the state鈥檚 fiscal year 2026 budget to award mental health providers in its second round of grants. That鈥檚 up from the $40 million Gov. Wes Moore originally suggested spending.

But with some money left over from funding this past fiscal year, the consortium plans to allocate closer to $98 million in grants. Legislators previously allocated $119.7 million over two years to set up the consortium and issued its first $111 million of grants in February 2024.

Partly as a result of those grants, more than 80% of Maryland public schools now have some sort of mental health service available for students. And mental health advocates said the additional funding means the state鈥檚 effort will continue to reach a large percentage of the state鈥檚 children.

鈥淭his is a critical investment that鈥檚 ensuring students in every corner of our state have the resources and support necessary to learn and thrive,鈥� said Dan Martin, senior director of public policy at the Mental Health Association of Maryland. 鈥淲e couldn鈥檛 be happier.鈥�

The consortium provides mental health funding for dozens of services, including in-school counseling, substance abuse treatment and peer support groups for families and students.

But at the beginning of this year鈥檚 difficult legislative session where the General Assembly would have to fill a $3 billion budget hole, Moore proposed a spending plan that allocated only $40 million to the youth mental health effort 鈥� even though he once proposed the program should receive $130 million for fiscal year 2026.

The General Assembly, however, passed a bill on the last day of the legislative session that added $30 million to the youth mental health budget on top of what Moore had proposed, leaving many relieved for the future of the program.

Sen. Katie Fry Hester, a Democrat representing Montgomery and Howard counties, said this decision was crucial for the future of the consortium and the youth mental health programs it funds.

鈥淚 think when you鈥檙e trying to address the mental health needs of the entire state, you can鈥檛 really do it piecemeal,鈥� Hester said.

If funding for the consortium had been limited to the amount suggested in Moore鈥檚 budget, 鈥測ou would have to redo the entire program,鈥� Hester added.

The consortium鈥檚 grant allocations are designed around a 鈥渉ub and spoke鈥� model that aims to include community organizations in the program. The hubs, or organizations already established in Maryland鈥檚 counties, including churches and community centers, help promote and run the services of the spokes, or mental health programs. Both are funded through consortium grants.

鈥淭he hub and spoke model would not have worked at $40 million,鈥� Hester said.

While the community organizations are in different stages of operation in each county, Mark Luckner, executive director of the Maryland Community Health Resources Commission, said the funding provided will allow for the program to move closer to full implementation this upcoming year.

Luckner said a good number of active service providers have applied for the second round of funding, which the consortium is expected to issue by June 30.

The initial 127 grants were projected to serve about 150,000 people, 鈥渁nd they鈥檙e well on their way to do that globally,鈥� Luckner said at Thursday鈥檚 consortium meeting.

Luckner said he believes within two years, as many as 22 of the state鈥檚 24 jurisdictions will either have a fully operational or almost fully operational youth mental health hub.

鈥淲e should just take a moment and celebrate that accomplishment that the consortium is achieving,鈥� Luckner said.

Service providers agree. Jan Guszynski is the project manager for Prosper, an app that, under Uneo Health, provides mental health check ins-for adolescents. The app received $1.4 million grants to provide services in Prince George鈥檚, Frederick and Calvert counties.

Before the legislation was passed confirming $70 million in consortium funding for fiscal year 2026, Guszynski said she was worried for the future of not only mental health services but for the students using them.

鈥淚 really, really hope that we do not see these resources shuttered or too heavily impacted as time goes on,鈥� Guszynski said. 鈥淏ecause it鈥檚 hugely important.鈥�

Those resources won鈥檛 likely get shuttered or too heavily impacted if the General Assembly sticks with the outline it set in the budget it just passed, which projects $100 million in youth mental health funding in fiscal year 2027 and $100 million annually after that.