In this subtitle the following words have the meanings indicated. “Eligible functions” includes: Transportation to and from treatment services; Treatment, prevention, or coordination staff; Data sharing services among counties and other appropriate treatment providers; Education or outreach programs and materials; In–community emergency behavioral health services or crisis stabilization units; and Behavioral health programs in schools. “Eligible population” includes: Mothers of drug–addicted infants; Parents of children in need of assistance; Hospital emergency room admittees; Needy families receiving temporary cash assistance; Foster care children and parents; Children in after–school programs and their parents, including children and parents in programs supported by the Maryland After–School Opportunity Fund; Adolescents; Parents subject to arrearages in child support payments; Drug offenders under the supervision of the Division of Parole and Probation; Pretrial correctional incarcerated individuals; Prerelease correctional incarcerated individuals; The general incarcerated individual population within county–managed correctional facilities; Parents of children entering out–of–home placements or at risk of entering out–of–home placements; and Drug offenders under the supervision of the problem solving courts. “Partnership funding” means money granted from the Substance Abuse Treatment Outcomes Partnership Fund to match local funding. “Proposal” means a plan under this subtitle to provide new or expanded substance abuse treatment services. “Request for Partnership funding” means a proposal, submitted by the governing bodies of one or more jurisdictions, to provide substance abuse treatment services to one or more eligible populations or to provide eligible functions within the requesting jurisdiction or jurisdictions.

There shall be a Substance Abuse Treatment Outcomes Partnership Fund, established within the Maryland Department of Health. The Fund shall be administered according to this subtitle. The Fund shall receive money as provided by the Governor in the State budget. The Fund also may accept funds from local, nonprofit, or private organizations.

The Department shall adopt regulations to: Establish timelines and procedures for requests for Partnership funding, consistent with this subtitle; Establish guidelines that require programs to bill third–party insurers; and Manage the Fund and authorize distribution of money from the Fund in accordance with this subtitle.

In this section, “county” includes Baltimore City. A request for Partnership funding may be submitted to the Department by: The governing body of a county; or The governing body of more than one county. A request for Partnership funding shall be made in accordance with a schedule and format determined by the Department, in consultation with the Task Force to Study Increasing the Availability of Substance Abuse Programs. In a request for Partnership funding, the applicant or applicants shall include: A description of the proposal; An indication of the eligible targeted population or populations that the proposal will serve; or The eligible functions that will be funded under the proposal; A description of the services to be provided under the proposed new or expanded program and an identification of the local providers able to provide those services; A plan to reach the targeted populations using relevant means of contact; Performance and outcome indicators to evaluate the program effectiveness, including a description of the expected schedule and methods for measuring performance and outcome; and A statement of the funds or in–kind contributions that the applicant intends to commit. In evaluating a request for Partnership funding, the Department shall consider: The performance and outcome indicators specified; The degree to which the proposal may reduce the need for other State or local public services or programs intended for the populations targeted by the proposal; The extent to which the proposal incorporates the use of excess or otherwise available medical–related facilities, including vacant hospital beds; How the proposal fits into a balanced approach to the State’s variety of substance abuse needs and populations that serves different geographic areas of the State with Partnership funding; and The extent to which the proposal is part of or consistent with a regional strategy for substance abuse treatment programs affecting adjoining jurisdictions. The Department shall award Partnership funding following the considerations in this section. Except as provided in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, a county granted funding shall be responsible for one–half of the cost of the approved partnership. The Department may award Partnership funding that results in a county being responsible for less than one–half of the cost of the approved partnership after considering: The financial hardship of the participating county; Prior contributions of funds for substance abuse treatment programs made by the participating county; or Other relevant considerations deemed appropriate by the Department. Except as provided in paragraph (4) of this subsection, a participating county: May use Partnership funds only to supplement levels of spending by the participating county on drug treatment programs; and May not use Partnership funds to supplant spending by the participating county on drug treatment programs. If a participating county began spending county or other non–State funds on eligible functions after October 1, 2010, the participating county may use Partnership funding to continue or expand funding for eligible functions.