Mental Health Grant Program for Justice-Involved Individuals

The Mental Health Grant for Justice-Involved Individuals is a grant program established to reduce recidivism rates, arrests, and incarceration among people with mental illness and the wait time for people on forensic commitments. The program supports community grant programs by:

  • Providing behavioral health care services to people with a mental illness encountering the criminal justice system; and
  • Facilitating the local cross-agency coordination of behavioral health, physical health, and jail diversion services for people with mental illness involved in the criminal justice system.

Services Provided

  • Mental health deputy programs
  • Continuity of care
  • Programs across the Sequential Intercept Model
  • Assertive Community Treatment and Forensic Assertive Community Treatment
  • Permanent supportive housing
  • Jail and hospital diversion programs
  • Crisis residential services
  • Competency restoration
  • Legal support

Grantees and Program Performance

Agency staff utilize data-driven program performance measurement and reporting processes as a part of administering each matching grant program. Performance data for each grant-funded project is submitted quarterly by grantees. Agency staff collect and analyze this data to create and disseminate reports such as annual report cards that list current grantees:

Grantee Eligibility

MHGJII funds are made available through a Needs and Capacity Assessment process to local mental health authorities (LMHAs) and local behavioral health authorities (LBHAs) representing a community collaborative. Community collaboratives must include a county, the LMHA or LBHA operating in the county, and each hospital district located in the county, if any. Community collaboratives may include other local entities designated by collaborative members.

Texas Government Code – Section 531.0993 further specifies that HHSC must continue the Harris County Jail Diversion Program. While not considered an MHGJII grantee, HHSC is appropriated $5 million per fiscal year to support this collaboration. The Harris County collaborative is required to provide matching funds in an amount equal to the lesser of the allocation for the Harris County Jail Diversion Program, or the collaborative’s available matching funds.

Match Requirements

MHGJII awards depend on matching funds, which can include cash or in-kind contributions from any person but must not include money from state or federal funds. The match must equal:

  • 100 percent of the grant amount if the MHGJII program is in a county with a population of 250,000 or more.
  • 50 percent of the grant amount if the MHGJII program is in a county with a population of less than 250,000 but equal to or more than 100,000.
  • 25 percent of the grant amount if the MHGJII program is in a county with a population of less than 100,000.

If the MHGJII program is in more than one county, the percentage is the grant amount needed for the largest county.

Legislative Statute and Enabling Legislation

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