Stephen T. Baron is Director of the Department of Mental Health where he leads the development, management and oversight of the District’s public mental health system.
The Department provides emergency care and ongoing services and support to about 17,000 residents each year, and includes a network of community based private mental health providers, unique government delivered services, and Saint Elizabeths Hospital—the District’s in patient psychiatric facility.
Since his appointment in 2006, Mr. Baron has led the implementation of initiatives that increase access to care and expand the range of available services, including emergency mobile crisis services for adults and children/youth and an urgent care clinic at Superior Court for on the spot referrals to mental health treatment. In partnership with the Metropolitan Police Department, he started crisis intervention training on the most appropriate response to people with mental illness who come in contact with law enforcement officers and don’t require arrest.
Before joining District government, Mr. Baron was president of Baltimore Mental Health Systems, Inc. for 17 years where he developed a range of innovative community-based programs for adults, increased affordable housing for people with mental illness, and expanded school-based and early childhood mental health services. He also served as the Executive Director of People Encouraging People, a comprehensive community rehabilitation program for individuals for serious and persistent mental illness, and spent eight years in the field as a social worker and therapist.
A Baltimore native, Mr. Baron has received numerous awards and honors, including the Champion Award from the DC Mental Health Association. He holds a Master of Social Work from Howard University in Washington, DC, and his field placement was with the Saint Elizabeths Hospital outpatient program. He received a Bachelor of Social Welfare from Adelphi University in Garden City, New York.
