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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the creation of a grant program to reduce recidivism, |
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arrest, and incarceration of individuals with mental illness. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 531, Government Code, is |
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amended by adding Section 531.0993 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 531.0993. GRANT PROGRAM TO REDUCE RECIDIVISM, ARREST, |
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AND INCARCERATION AMONG INDIVIDUALS WITH MENTAL ILLNESS AND TO |
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REDUCE WAIT TIME FOR FORENSIC COMMITMENT. (a) For purposes of |
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this section, "low-income household" means a household with a total |
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income at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty guideline. |
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(b) Using money appropriated to the commission for that |
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purpose, each state fiscal year the commission shall make grants to |
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county-based community collaboratives for the purposes of |
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reducing: |
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(1) recidivism by, the frequency of arrests of, and |
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incarceration of persons with mental illness; and |
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(2) the total waiting time for forensic commitment of |
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persons with mental illness to a state hospital. |
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(c) A community collaborative is eligible to receive a grant |
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under this section only if the collaborative includes a county, a |
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local mental health authority that operates in the county, and each |
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hospital district, if any, located in the county. A community |
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collaborative may include other local entities designated by the |
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collaborative's members. |
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(d) The commission shall condition each grant provided to a |
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community collaborative under this section on the collaborative |
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submitting a plan described by Subsection (i) and providing |
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matching funds from nonstate sources in a total amount at least |
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equal to the awarded grant amount. To raise matching funds, a |
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collaborative may seek and receive gifts, grants, or donations from |
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any person. |
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(e) Not later than the 30th day of each fiscal year, the |
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commission shall make available to a community collaborative |
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established in the most populous county in this state a grant in an |
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amount equal to the lesser of: |
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(1) the amount appropriated to the commission for that |
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fiscal year for a mental health jail diversion pilot program in that |
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county; or |
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(2) the collaborative's available matching funds. |
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(f) The commission shall estimate the number of persons with |
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serious mental illness in low-income households located in each of |
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the 20 most populous counties in this state. For the purposes of |
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distributing grants under this section to community collaboratives |
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established in the 19 counties other than the most populous county, |
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for each fiscal year the commission shall determine an amount of |
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grant money available on a per person basis by dividing the amount |
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of the grant made available under Subsection (e) by the estimated |
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total number of persons with serious mental illness in low-income |
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households located in the most populous county. |
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(g) Not later than the 60th day of each fiscal year, the |
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commission shall make available to a community collaborative |
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established in each of the 19 most populous counties in this state |
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other than the most populous county a grant in an amount equal to |
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the lesser of: |
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(1) an amount determined by multiplying the per person |
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amount determined under Subsection (f) by the estimated number of |
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cases of serious mental illness in low-income households in that |
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county; or |
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(2) an amount equal to the collaborative's available |
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matching funds. |
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(h) To the extent appropriated money remains available to |
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the commission for that purpose after the commission makes grants |
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available under Subsections (e) and (g), the commission shall make |
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available to community collaboratives established in other |
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counties in this state grants through a competitive request for |
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proposal process. For purposes of awarding a grant under this |
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subsection, a collaborative may include adjacent counties if, for |
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each member county, the collaborative's members include a local |
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mental health authority that operates in the county and each |
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hospital district, if any, located in the county. The commission |
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shall condition a grant awarded under this subsection on the |
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collaborative submitting a plan described by Subsection (i). |
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(i) Not later than the 30th day of each fiscal year, the |
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community collaboratives established in each of the 20 most |
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populous counties in this state shall submit to the commission a |
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plan that: |
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(1) is endorsed by each of the collaborative's member |
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entities; |
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(2) identifies a target population; |
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(3) describes how the grant money and matching funds |
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will be used; |
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(4) includes outcome measures to evaluate the success |
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of the plan; and |
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(5) describes how the success of the plan in |
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accordance with the outcome measures would further the state's |
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interest in the grant program's purposes. |
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(j) Acceptable uses for the grant money and matching funds |
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include: |
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(1) the continuation of a mental health jail diversion |
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program; |
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(2) the establishment or expansion of a mental health |
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jail diversion program; |
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(3) the establishment of alternatives to competency |
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restoration in a state hospital, including outpatient competency |
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restoration, inpatient competency restoration in a setting other |
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than a state hospital, or jail-based competency restoration; |
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(4) the provision of assertive community treatment or |
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forensic assertive community treatment with an outreach component; |
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(5) the provision of intensive mental health services |
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and substance abuse treatment not readily available in the county; |
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(6) the provision of continuity of care services for |
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an individual being released from a state hospital; |
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(7) the establishment of interdisciplinary rapid |
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response teams to reduce law enforcement's involvement with mental |
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health emergencies; and |
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(8) the provision of local community hospital, crisis, |
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respite, or residential beds. |
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(k) Not later than December 31 following the end of the |
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fiscal year for which the commission distributes a grant under this |
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section, each community collaborative that receives a grant shall |
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prepare and submit a report describing the effect of the grant money |
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and matching funds in achieving the standard defined by the outcome |
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measures in the plan submitted under Subsection (h) or (i). |
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(l) The commission may make inspections of the operation and |
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provision of mental health services provided by a community |
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collaborative to ensure state money appropriated for the grant |
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program is used effectively. |
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SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |
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