Prince George's County Seeks Providers for Youth Mental Health Residential Program

Young people in Prince George's County experiencing serious mental health crises have frequently been placed in residential programs outside the county, cut off from their schools, families, and community networks. The Local Behavioral Health Authority moved to address that gap on April 2, issuing a Request for Applications for providers to operate an Enhanced Residential Rehabilitation Program serving transitional-age youth between roughly 16 and 25 years old.

The application deadline is April 17 at 5:00 PM, giving prospective providers less than two weeks to respond. Contract awards are expected on or around April 22. Completed applications must be submitted to PGC_LBHA@pgcmd.gov.

The Enhanced RRP occupies a critical space between intensive inpatient hospitalization and fully independent community living, a gap that behavioral health specialists have long identified as a weak link in the care continuum for young adults. Under the program model, providers would deliver supervised residential care, stabilization services, skill-building, case management, and connections to education and employment opportunities. The county's RFA specifies requirements for clinical staffing, trauma-informed care approaches, and housing and safety protocols that applicant organizations must demonstrate they can meet.

Transitional-age youth represent one of the highest-need populations in the behavioral health system. Without local residential capacity, youth who require this level of care often wait through extended delays for out-of-county or regional placements, disruptions that can deepen crises and derail educational and social progress. Building that capacity locally is designed to shorten wait times and preserve the community ties that support long-term recovery.

For the county, selecting a qualified provider is only the first step. Medicaid and other funding streams must align with the program's clinical structure, and coordination with local housing and workforce partners will be essential to helping participants eventually transition to independence.

A pre-application teleconference is scheduled for April 27 at 2:00 PM. The full RFA packet, including program descriptions, eligibility criteria, and administrative procedures, is available through the county.