§ 9-233

(a) In this section, “youth services bureau” means a community–based entity that is operated:

(1) to provide community–oriented delinquency prevention, youth suicide prevention, drug and alcohol abuse prevention, and youth development;

(2) to ameliorate conditions that contribute to delinquency, youth suicide, drug and alcohol abuse, and family disruption; and

(3) to function as an advocate of youth needs.

(b) (1) The Department shall adopt regulations that set eligibility guidelines for State funding of youth services bureaus under this section.

(2) The regulations shall require that each youth services bureau that receives State funding:

(i) provide, at convenient hours:

1. individual, family, or group counseling;

2. referral and information services;

3. crisis intervention, including intervention relating to youth suicide prevention;

4. alcohol and drug abuse assessment and referral services by staff who have received substance abuse assessment and referral training from the Office of Education and Training for Addiction Services (OETAS) in the Maryland Department of Health or from any other entity that the Secretary determines to be qualified to provide substance abuse assessment and referral training;

5. informal counseling; and

6. in accordance with the needs of the community and subject to the availability of funds:

A. tutoring;

B. alternative leisure activities;

C. employment assistance;

D. community education, including training and information relating to youth suicide prevention;

E. aftercare services; and

F. other specialized services;

(ii) subject to subsection (c)(2) of this section, provide the services described in item (i) of this paragraph free of charge or at a rate that its board of directors establishes, in consultation with the Department, that is based on the client’s family income; and

(iii) dispose of all information and records on each individual receiving services from the youth services bureau 5 years after services to the individual terminate.

(c) (1) A youth services bureau may retain any fees charged under subsection (b)(2)(ii) of this section.

(2) The fees authorized under subsection (b)(2)(ii) of this section do not apply to youth referred to a youth services bureau by court order.

(d) (1) The Department shall:

(i) monitor the operations of each youth services bureau that receives State funding;

(ii) evaluate annually the effectiveness of each youth services bureau; and

(iii) discontinue funding a youth services bureau that is ineffective or that, for 2 years, fails to meet the eligibility guidelines for State funding.

(2) The Department shall review and approve or disapprove an application for State funding of a youth services bureau or proposed youth services bureau.

(e) (1) (i) The State and the local government shall jointly fund an eligible youth services bureau.

(ii) The State shall provide 75% of the funding for an eligible youth services bureau, as provided in the State budget.

(2) At the times that the Department specifies, each eligible youth services bureau shall submit a proposed annual budget to the Department for review and approval.

(3) The proposed budget of the Department shall list the eligible youth services bureaus and estimate the amount of State funds to be allocated to each.

(4) (i) The local governing body that provides the matching funds for an eligible youth services bureau may choose to have the State funds for the youth services bureau paid directly to its private sponsor or to the local governing body.

(ii) Before the State funds are paid, the fiscal officer of the local government shall certify in writing the source of the matching funds provided by the local government.