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The Maryland Community Services Locator also known as the MDCSL was developed
by the Center for Substance Abuse Research at the University of Maryland
College Park
with funding from the Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention.
The MDCSL is a free website that Maryland residents, practitioners, and service
providers can use to locate a wide range of community services by location
including maps and directions to program sites.
The MDCSL can be a valuable and time-saving tool for professionals who
need to make referrals to criminal justice, health, and social service
programs
as well as for residents looking for help.
With over 9,000 Maryland programs listed, users can choose from
more than twenty service categories
including substance abuse treatment programs,
mental health services, food assistance programs, legal assistance programs
victim services and many others.
This is a step-by-step tutorial on using the Maryland Community Services Locator website.
We will begin by reviewing the process for a basic search.
Searching for a Single Service
Begin by entering as much location information as you would like to find programs near you.
You can search by a full street address
just a city and state combination
or a zip code for anywhere in Maryland.
For this demonstration we will search by a city and state combination
baltimore, maryland
Then, select a mileage radius from the drop-down menu.
You can search from half a mile up to fifty miles from your starting location.
A smaller search radius may serve those living in an urban area better than
those living in a suburban or rural location.
You should try to pick a radius large enough to get the results you need.
For this demonstration, we will select a 5 mile search radius.
Next, select one type of program service from the program services list.
By selecting a single program service you will get a complete list of all of
the programs in the MDCSL that offer the selected service.
For the purposes of this demonstration, we will select Job Readiness/Adult Education.
You may notice an option for an "Advanced Search."
This type of search is currently only available for Substance Abuse Treatment
programs and will be covered later in this demonstration.
Once you have selected your service, click on the "Find Locations" button at the
bottom of the page to display your search results.
Be careful not to select the "Clear Form" button,
which, if clicked
will clear the form of any information entered.
The search results page will display a list of programs that provide the
selected service, beginning with programs that are closest to your
starting location.
Each program listing will give you some basic information including contact information,
program details and website links, if available.
The service locations are indicated by a red circle.
The numbers inside the circles indicate proximity, with one being the closest
program to the starting location
and one hundred being the program farthest from the starting location.
Scroll through the search results to locate programs of interest.
Up to twenty programs will display on each page.
To view additional programs, click the next button in the bottom right corner
of the search results page.
Up to one hundred programs will be provided for each search.
To access a map to find the specific location of any program,
click on the program's title.
Note that the map will open in a new window of your web browser.
The program location you have selected will be indicated by a yellow star on the map.
Zoom in or out on the map by using the zoom tool.
Note that the program's address is listed in the upper left corner.
You can print this map by clicking on the print button in the upper right corner.
By closing the map window, we can proceed and get directions to the
selected program.
To get directions to any program, click the "Get Directions" button below the program listing of interest.
This will give you turn-by-turn driving directions and maps from your starting
location to the program location.
If you searched by only a city/state combination or zip code, it will give you
directions from the center of that location to the program address.
If you searched from a specific address,
it will give you directions from that address to the program location.
Click on the "Reverse Directions" button located at the top of the page.
This will display turn by turn driving directions from your selected program location
to your starting address.
Again, you can print the directions by clicking on the print button
in the upper left corner.
You can return to the home page by clicking "Home" in the footer.
Searching for Multiple Services
Now we will demonstrate how to search for more than one type of service at a time.
Selecting more than one program service will make your search results more specific by
including in your results only those programs that provide all of the checked services.
This may be useful if you are searching for programs that provide multiple services at a single location.
Checking all of the service types in a single search will not produce any results,
as there are no programs that offer all of the listed services at a
single location.
To perform a search for multiple services, begin by entering your location information
For the purposes of this demonstration, we will use "Towson, MD."
Continue by selecting your mileage radius from the drop down menu.
For this demonstration, we will select a 10 mile search radius.
Given that a search for multiple services will narrow your results,
you may want to increase your search radius to find more programs.
Next, select the combination of services that you would like to search by.
Remember, the more services you select, the fewer search results you will get.
For the purposes of this demonstration, we will select both "Mental Health"
and "Substance Abuse Treatment Programs."
Remember that since you are selecting more than one service, your results will
contain only programs that offer both Substance Abuse Treatment and Mental Health
services at the same location.
Once you have selected your services, click the "Find Locations" button
at the bottom of the page.
From here, you can select the locations, maps, and directions for programs of interest.
By returning to the home page, you can, similarly, narrow your Substance Abuse Treatment search
by selecting from the check boxes in the "Advanced Search" area.
To view these options, users can click on the red text which will open the
advanced search area in the bottom section of the page.
This area contains specific options for users to select from when searching for
Substance Abuse Treatment programs.
Here, users can search for programs by treatment type, population served
and payment options.
Additionally, users can search for programs that offer specialized programs or services.
This section can be closed
by re-clicking the "Advanced Search" text,
as opposed to using the "back button" on your internet browser.
To learn more about the MDCSL, go to the home page and visit the FAQ's section
located on the left bar.
You can also find contact information for MDCSL staff in 'Contact Us' on the
bottom of the webpage.
If you can't find the resources you need in your search, visit the links section in
the middle of the left bar of the home page for more program information.
Remember, you can follow the MDCSL on Facebook and Twitter,
as well as join our email list.
Thank you for visiting the MDCSL!