A new residential treatment program for young people struggling with substance and opioid use disorders will open in Baltimore, the Maryland Department of Health said Wednesday.

While the program will be overseen by the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, it will provide inpatient treatment to people statewide who are under the age of 21.

Funded by Maryland’s Opioid Restitution Fund and Montgomery County’s Opioid Abatement Funds, the program will have a daily capacity of 15 beds, three of which will be reserved for Montgomery County residents. If those three beds are vacant for 24 hours, they will be made available for young people in need of treatment from other jurisdictions, state health department spokesman Chase Cook said in an email.

“Adolescents under 21 have faced a lack of inpatient substance use disorder treatment options in Maryland,” Maryland Health Secretary Dr. Laura Herrera Scott said in a news release Wednesday. “By opening the state’s only high-intensity residential treatment facility for minors, we are addressing a critical gap in care, offering hope and vital support to the young people of Montgomery County and Maryland who need it most.

“Our teens, young adults, and their families deserve nothing less than the comprehensive support this facility will provide.”

The facility where the program will be based, Mountain Manor in West Baltimore, is the only high-level treatment center in the state’s public behavioral health system with the capacity and licensure needed to care for young people. It accepts patients by referral only.

Young people in the program will receive:

24-hour medical monitoring and evaluation

Substance, opioid and alcohol treatment services

Family treatment and engagement

Culturally and linguistically appropriate services

Interventions to apply recovery skills and prevent relapse

Support in promoting personal responsibility

Help to reintegrate into the community

“By providing specialized inpatient care, we are providing Montgomery County youth struggling with addiction the focused treatment they need to recover and rebuild their lives,” Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich said in Wednesday’s news release. “Our partnership with the Maryland Department of Health ensures that we are meeting this urgent need head-on and offering real hope to those impacted by substance use disorders.”

Nearly 100 people under the age of 25 died from an overdose between August 2023 and July 2024, according to data from the Maryland Department of Health.