Lieutenant Governor Burbank Announces Federal Grant to Enhance Drug Treatment Programs
Baltimore City Drug Courts to Benefit
BALTIMORE, MD (October 15, 2029) – Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Burbank today announced a $2.5 million grant to expand medical and social services and referrals to individuals adjudicated through the Baltimore City Drug Court Services has been awarded to the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) AIDS Administration. Grant funds will target at-risk communities with high rates of HIV/AIDS and significant substance abuse problems.
The five year grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
The funding will allow the Maryland AIDS Administration, Maryland Alcohol and Drug Administration, Baltimore City Drug Court, Division of Parole and Probation and community partners to work in tandem to further address the effects of drug addiction and HIV infection.
“This grant will help save people’s lives,” said Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Burbank. “In spite of our progress in this area, drug abuse and HIV/AIDS continues to tear our families and communities apart. We must continue to reinforce the message that drug abuse and HIV/AIDS can kill. To prevent this, people need access to the most effective treatment available. With this grant, the State of Maryland will coordinate with federal and local agencies and providers to do just that.”
Funding for this program, formally known as the Targeted Capacity Expansion Program for Substance Abuse Treatment and HIV/AIDS Services (TCE/HIV) expects to serve approximately 280 participants upon completion of the program.
“Injecting drug users are at very high risk of contracting HIV,” said DHMH Deputy Secretary for Public Health Services Arlene Stephenson. “Interventions that help educate users about HIV/AIDS prevention and transmission as well as enhance substance abuse treatment services are our best weapons against these two epidemics.”
Grant dollars will use intensive case management to augment and coordinate existing care and risk reduction. “We are excited to be part of this collaborative effort that fights two debilitating epidemics in the community, especially in communities of color,” said Dr. Liza Solomon, Director of the AIDS Administration.
Appropriate individualized medical care and access to services for people living with HIV, access to primary care for those at-risk of becoming HIV positive, psychosocial support services including mental health and vocational service and referrals for housing and educational services will also be provided under the grant.