Mental Health Grant Program for Justice-Involved Individuals

The Mental Health Grant for Justice-Involved Individuals (MHGJII) is a grant program established to reduce recidivism rates, arrests and incarceration among people with mental illness and reduce the total waiting time for an inpatient forensic commitment for people determined incompetent to stand trial. The program supports community grant programs by:

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

Services Provided

  • Assertive Community Treatment and Forensic Assertive Community Treatment
  • Continuity of care
  • Crisis services
  • Diversion centers
  • In-jail services
  • Jail and hospital diversion programs
  • Jail-based and outpatient competency restoration
  • Juvenile services
  • Mental health deputy programs
  • Programs across the Sequential Intercept Model

Grantees and Program Performance

Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) 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. HHSC staff collect and analyze this data to create and disseminate reports such as annual report cards that identify current grantees and overall performance:

Grantee Eligibility

MHGJII funds are made available to local mental health authorities (LMHAs) and local behavioral health authorities (LBHAs) representing a community collaborative through a competitive procurement process using a Needs and Capacity Assessment. 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 531.09935 further specifies that HHSC must provide a grant to a community collaborative in Harris County. While not considered an MHGJII grantee, HHSC appropriates $5 million per fiscal year to support the Jail Diversion program operated by the Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD. Harris County is required to provide matching funds in an amount equal to or lesser of the allocation for the Jail Diversion program, or the collaborative’s available matching funds.

Match Requirements

MHGJII awards require dedicated 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% of the grant amount if the MHGJII program is in a county with a population of 250,000 or more.
  • 50% 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% 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 required is based on the population of the largest county served by the grant award.

Legislative Statute and Enabling Legislation

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