Millions in state funding meant to reopen a youth substance abuse program in Frederick County was shifted, through budget deliberations last year, toward reopening a juvenile detention center in Montgomery County.
In January 2025, Gov. Wes Moore traveled to Oakdale High School and announced $3 million in his proposed state budget to reopen the Catoctin Summit Adolescent Program, which provided residential substance-abuse treatment in Sabillasville for youths.
It is unclear when the funding was reappropriated, but by the time the governor signed the fiscal year 2026 budget bill on May 20, 2025, the funding was directed “to reopen” the Alfred D. Noyes Children’s Center near Rockville as a youth substance abuse treatment center.
Moore on Thursday announced school construction funding for Frederick County Public Schools set aside in his proposed budget for next fiscal year. He made the announcement at Frederick High School.
When asked by The Frederick News-Post at Frederick High about the $3 million in funding set aside last year for Catoctin Summit, Moore said that funding is “actually in process and moving on, not just allocation, but also operationalization.”
“It’s something that, when we take these capital investments, and we work with our partners in the General Assembly, work with our partners in local leadership … that’s one we do take very, very seriously on seeing how that is actually done and done properly,” he said.
Asked if there would be progress in 2026 on reopening Catoctin Summit, Moore said yes.
However, the governor’s office later clarified that the funding was instead appropriated by the Maryland General Assembly last year to reopen Noyes.
Catoctin Summit closed in 2019 and remains closed. The program was run by the Washington County Health Department.
The Department of Juvenile Services confirmed that Noyes, formerly a juvenile detention center, has been closed since 2022. Services relating to substance abuse treatment are expected to begin this year.
Michael Sharp, the spokesperson for the Department of Juvenile Services, said the department has been working to clean the center, make repairs and lessen the security of the building to get the program ready for youths.
He said the Department of Juvenile Services has also been searching for a provider of substance use treatment.
Del. April Miller, a Republican who represents part of Frederick County, wrote in a text message on Tuesday that the reappropriation is “disturbing.”
She wrote that the General Assembly reappropriating funds proposed “for struggling Maryland youth” to Noyes “defies logic.”
Miller mentioned that Noyes and other Maryland juvenile detention centers have a history of abuse allegations.
“There has been a documented lack of oversight and accountability that is putting citizens at risk every single day,” she wrote.
In 2025, during Moore’s visit to Oakdale, he said the adolescent drug treatment center would “support youth that are struggling.”
“This becomes a moment where we can believe in all of our kids, no matter their background, no matter their family lineage,” he said. “We’re not as concerned about where they come from, but we are going to invest in where they’re going.”
