Lower Eastern Shore YJMHCP

The Eastern Shore Youth Justice Mental Health Collaboration Project is a cross-collaboration initiative between the Maryland Office of the Public Defender (OPD) and Shedrick Family Wellness (Shedrick). OPD is a juvenile justice state agency responsible for the defense of youth in juvenile and criminal proceedings. Shedrick is a community-trusted behavioral health agency that provides mental health services to children, adolescents, and adults, including co-occurring mental health and substance use services. By employing both the legal representation and mental health services frameworks, OPD and Shedrick aim to improve health outcomes for justice-involved youth with mental health disorders and mental health and substance use disorders, strengthen family support and relationships between the child and parent/guardian, and promote public safety by reducing recidivism in a region with one of the highest recidivism rates in the state.