Sec. 531.0991. GRANT PROGRAM FOR MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES. (a) To the extent money is appropriated to the commission for that purpose, the commission shall establish a matching grant program for the purpose of supporting community mental health programs providing services and treatment to individuals experiencing mental illness.

(b) The commission shall ensure that each grant recipient obtains or secures contributions to match awarded grants in amounts of money or other consideration as required by Subsection (h). The money or other consideration obtained or secured by the recipient, as determined by the executive commissioner, may include cash or in-kind contributions from any person but may not include money from state or federal funds.

(c) Money appropriated to or obtained by the commission for the matching grant program must be disbursed directly to grant recipients by the commission, as authorized by the executive commissioner.

(d) A grant awarded under the matching grant program and matching amounts must be used for the sole purpose of supporting community programs that provide mental health care services and treatment to individuals with a mental illness and that coordinate mental health care services for individuals with a mental illness with other transition support services.

(e) The commission shall select grant recipients based on the submission of applications or proposals by nonprofit and governmental entities. The executive commissioner shall develop criteria for the evaluation of those applications or proposals and the selection of grant recipients. The selection criteria must:

(1) evaluate and score:

(A) fiscal controls for the project;

(B) project effectiveness;

(C) project cost; and

(D) an applicant's previous experience with grants and contracts;

(2) address whether the services proposed in the application or proposal would duplicate services already available in the applicant's service area;

(3) address the possibility of and method for making multiple awards; and

(4) include other factors that the executive commissioner considers relevant.

(f) A nonprofit or governmental entity that applies for a grant under this section must notify each local mental health authority with a local service area that is covered wholly or partly by the entity's proposed community mental health program and must provide in the entity's application a letter of support from each local mental health authority with a local service area that is covered wholly or partly by the entity's proposed community mental health program. The commission shall consider a local mental health authority's written input before awarding a grant under this section and may take any recommendations made by the authority.

(g) The commission shall condition each grant awarded to a recipient under the program on the recipient obtaining or securing matching funds from non-state sources in amounts of money or other consideration as required by Subsection (h).

(h) A community that receives a grant under this section is required to leverage funds in an amount:

(1) equal to 50 percent of the grant amount if the community mental health program is located in a county with a population of less than 250,000;

(2) equal to 100 percent of the grant amount if the community mental health program is located in a county with a population of at least 250,000; and

(3) equal to the percentage of the grant amount otherwise required by this subsection for the largest county in which a community mental health program is located if the community mental health program is located in more than one county.

(i) Except as provided by Subsection (j), from money appropriated to the commission for each fiscal year to implement this section, the commission shall reserve 50 percent of that total to be awarded only as grants to a community mental health program located in a county with a population not greater than 250,000.

(j) To the extent money appropriated to the commission to implement this section for a fiscal year remains available to the commission after the commission selects grant recipients for the fiscal year, the commission shall make grants available using the money remaining for the fiscal year through a competitive request for proposal process, without regard to the limitation provided by Subsection (i).

(k) Not later than December 1 of each calendar year, the executive commissioner shall submit to the governor, the lieutenant governor, and each member of the legislature a report evaluating the success of the matching grant program created by this section.

(l) The executive commissioner shall adopt any rules necessary to implement the matching grant program under this section.

(m) The commission shall implement a process to better coordinate all behavioral health grants administered by the commission in a manner that streamlines the administrative processes at the commission and decreases the administrative burden on applicants applying for multiple grants. This may include the development of a standard application for multiple behavioral health grants.

Text of section effective on June 14, 2017, but only if a specific appropriation is provided as described by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 770 (H.B. 13), Sec. 2, which states: This Act takes effect only if a specific appropriation for the implementation of the Act is provided in a general appropriations act of the 85th Legislature.

Added by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 770 (H.B. 13), Sec. 1, eff. June 14, 2017.

Redesignated from Government Code, Section 531.0999 by Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 467 (H.B. 4170), Sec. 21.001(25), eff. September 1, 2019.