Joint Committee on Access and Forensic Services

The Department of State Health Services established the Joint Committee on Access and Forensic Services in accordance with S.B. 1507, 84th Legislature, Regular Session, 2015.

The purpose of the committee is to provide customer/consumer and stakeholder input to the Health and Human Services system in the form of recommendations regarding access to forensic services within the state of Texas. The JCAFS considers and makes recommendations to the Legislature consistent with the committee’s purpose.

Recommendations to the Legislature regarding access to forensic services include:

  • Monitoring the implementation of updates to the bed day allocation methodology for allocating to each designated region a certain number of state-funded beds in state hospitals and other inpatient mental health facilities for voluntary, civil and forensic patients.
  • Implementing a bed day utilization review protocol, including a peer review process.
  • Improving access to mental health services for both civil and forensic patients throughout the full continuum of care from institution to community-based settings.

Members

Shannon Carr
Austin Area Mental Health Consumers, Inc.
Austin

Jonathan Caspell
Texas Municipal League
Lubbock

Sherri Cogbill
Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Austin

James “Mike” DeLoach
Texas Association of Counties
Littlefield

Stephen Glazier
Texas Hospital Association
Houston

Anna Gray
Behavioral Health Advisory Committee
San Antonio

Windy Johnson
Texas Conference of Urban Counties
Austin

Wade McKinney
County Judges and Commissioners Association
Athens

Jolene Rasmussen
Behavioral Health Advisory Committee
Austin

Jimmy Sylvia
County Judges and Commissioners Association
Anahuac

Sally Taylor
Texas Hospital Association
San Antonio

Dennis Wilson
Sheriff’s Association of Texas
Groesbeck

Wayne Young
Texas Council of Community Centers
Houston

Meeting Dates

Meetings will be held at the HHS campus. Information to access the meeting can be found on the agenda posted on the HHS Events webpage.

January 15, 2025
April 23, 2025
July 16, 2025
October 15, 2025

For More Information

Email the Joint Committee on Access and Forensic Services.

Reports and Presentations

Note: These files are in PDF format unless otherwise noted.