Tri-County Youth Services Bureau
If you have ever tried to find a counselor for your child, then you know first hand the frustration of calling counseling centers to inquire if they are accepting new patients and if they take your insurance and if they have appointment times that suit your schedule. Getting the help your child needs should not be such a challenge. Tri-County Youth Services Bureau is a community-based nonprofit founded in 1971 to provide viable solutions for all of these problems.
How They Got Started
In 1971, a small group of counselors were concerned about the lack of available counseling services for children, youth, and families in Southern Maryland and began traveling to different locations in the area offering low-cost counseling services to youth and their families. In that first year, the counselors made 100 client contacts.
What They Do Today
Today, Tri-County Youth Services Bureau makes more than 8,000 client contacts. They offer a wide range of services to meet the needs of children, youth, and families in Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary’s counties. Their primary goals is to provide high quality, low cost counseling and youth development services and to prevent delinquency, suicide, violence, drugs and alcohol abuse.
How Much Does it Cost
Counseling services are offered to children ages three to 18 and their families for a flat fee of $10.00 per session. At this time, they do not accept health insurance, so your counseling sessions will never cost more than $10.00. Youth who are mandated by the court to receive counseling are served free of charge.
Clinical group programs are also available to youth and address such issues as: anger management, emotional management, drug and alcohol abuse prevention and awareness, depression, suicide, personal responsibility, healthy relationships, goal setting, and decision making. Clinical groups include Reconnecting Youth and Anger Management. Clinical groups run for approximately eight weeks and there is a one-time fee of $25.
Tri-County Youth Services Bureau also has school-based counselors in every elementary and middle school in Charles County. Students are referred to the counseling program by the school principal or the guidance counselor or at the request of parents. School-based counseling is offered free of charge.
At-Risk Youths
Tri-County Youth Services Bureau’s youth development program serves at-risk youth through crisis intervention, individual, family, and group education, family assessment, case management, community outreach and intervention, substance abuse assessment and referral.
The youth development program offers several skill-building groups for youth, including Best Foot Forward (girls only), Step On Up (boys only), and the Youth Leadership Development Program. These groups run for approximately eight weeks and are offered free of charge. Youth on the Move is a youth-led group for young people who want to serve their community. This group meets approximately once per month throughout the year.
Community-Based Services
For people who need community-based services but are unsure how or where to get services, Tri-County Youth Services Bureau’s Family Connection Center of Charles County and the Family ACCESS Center in St. Mary’s County link children, youth, and families with community-based services all in one location. The Family Connection Center and the Family ACCESS Center identifies strengths and needs and then matches youth and families to appropriate community-based services. The services of the Family Connection Center and the Family ACCESS Center are offered free of charge.
Offices Locations, Times and Phone Numbers
Tri-County Youth Services Bureau offers counseling and youth development services in Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary’s County. Office hours are Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (Saturday hours in Charles County only).
Charles County office is located at 75 Industrial Park Drive in Waldorf and can be reached at 301-843-2960.
Family Connection Center of Charles County is located within the Human Services Partnership building at 6 Garrett Avenue in La Plata and can be reached at 301-885-1333.
St. Mary’s County office and the Family ACCESS Center is located within the Jarboe Head Start and Family Education Center at 21161 Lexwood Drive in Lexington Park and can be reached at 301-863-2247.
Calvert County office is located within the Department of Juvenile Services at 200 Duke Street, Suite 2800, in Prince Frederick and can be reached at 443-550-6276.
Tri-County Youth Services can also be reached by email at info@tcysb.org
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