GOVERNMENT CODE

TITLE 4. EXECUTIVE BRANCH

SUBTITLE I. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

CHAPTER 547A.  COMMUNITY COLLABORATIVES


Text of section effective on April 01, 2025

Sec. 547A.0001.  GRANTS FOR ESTABLISHING AND EXPANDING COMMUNITY COLLABORATIVES.  (a)  To the extent funds are appropriated to the commission for that purpose, the commission shall make grants to entities, including local governmental entities, nonprofit community organizations, and faith-based community organizations, to establish or expand community collaboratives that bring the public and private sectors together to provide services to individuals experiencing homelessness, substance use issues, or mental illness.  In awarding grants, the commission shall give special consideration to entities:
(1)  establishing new collaboratives; or
(2)  establishing or expanding collaboratives that serve two or more counties, each with a population of less than 100,000.
(b)  Except as provided by Subsection (c), the commission shall require each entity awarded a grant under this section to:
(1)  leverage additional funding or in-kind contributions from private contributors or local governments, excluding state or federal funds, in an amount that is at least equal to the amount of the grant awarded under this section;
(2)  provide evidence of significant coordination and collaboration between the entity, local mental health authorities, municipalities, local law enforcement agencies, and other community stakeholders in establishing or expanding a community collaborative funded by a grant awarded under this section; and
(3)  provide evidence of a local law enforcement policy to divert appropriate individuals from jails or other detention facilities to an entity affiliated with a community collaborative for the purpose of providing services to those individuals.
(c)  The commission may award a grant under this section to an entity for the purpose of establishing a community mental health program in a county with a population of less than 250,000, if the entity leverages additional funding or in-kind contributions from private contributors or local governments, excluding state or federal funds, in an amount equal to one-quarter of the grant amount to be awarded under this section, and the entity otherwise meets the requirements of Subsections (b)(2) and (3).
Added by Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 769 (H.B. 4611), Sec. 1.01, eff. April 1, 2025.


Text of section effective on April 01, 2025

Sec. 547A.0002.  ACCEPTABLE USES OF GRANT MONEY.  An entity shall use money received from a grant made by the commission and private funding sources to establish or expand a community collaborative.  Acceptable uses for the money include:
(1)  developing the infrastructure of the collaborative and the start-up costs of the collaborative;
(2)  establishing, operating, or maintaining other community service providers in the community the collaborative serves, including intake centers, detoxification units, sheltering centers for food, workforce training centers, microbusinesses, and educational centers;
(3)  providing clothing, hygiene products, and medical services to and arranging transitional and permanent residential housing for individuals the collaborative serves;
(4)  providing mental health services and substance use treatment not readily available in the community the collaborative serves;
(5)  providing information, tools, and resource referrals to assist individuals the collaborative serves in addressing the needs of their children; and
(6)  establishing and operating coordinated intake processes, including triage procedures, to protect public safety in the community the collaborative serves.
Added by Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 769 (H.B. 4611), Sec. 1.01, eff. April 1, 2025.


Text of section effective on April 01, 2025

Sec. 547A.0003.  ELEMENTS OF COMMUNITY COLLABORATIVES.  (a)  If appropriate, an entity may incorporate into the community collaborative the entity operates the use of the homeless management information system, transportation plans, and case managers.  An entity may also consider incorporating into a collaborative mentoring and volunteering opportunities, strategies to assist homeless youth and homeless families with children, strategies to reintegrate individuals who were recently incarcerated into the community, services for veterans, and strategies for individuals the collaborative serves to participate in the planning, governance, and oversight of the collaborative.
(b)  The focus of a community collaborative shall be the eventual successful transition of individuals from receiving services from the collaborative to becoming integrated into the community the collaborative serves through community relationships and family supports.
Added by Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 769 (H.B. 4611), Sec. 1.01, eff. April 1, 2025.


Text of section effective on April 01, 2025

Sec. 547A.0004.  OUTCOME MEASURES FOR COMMUNITY COLLABORATIVES.  Each entity that receives a grant from the commission to establish or expand a community collaborative shall select at least four of the following outcome measures that the entity will focus on meeting through implementing and operating the collaborative:
(1)  individuals the collaborative serves finding employment that results in those individuals having incomes that are at or above 100 percent of the federal poverty level;
(2)  individuals the collaborative serves finding permanent housing;
(3)  individuals the collaborative serves completing alcohol or substance use programs;
(4)  the collaborative helping to start social businesses in the community or engaging in job creation, job training, or other workforce development activities;
(5)  a decrease in the use of jail beds by individuals the collaborative serves;
(6)  a decrease in the need for emergency care by individuals the collaborative serves;
(7)  a decrease in the number of children whose families lack adequate housing referred to the Department of Family and Protective Services or a local entity responsible for child welfare; and
(8)  any other appropriate outcome measure the commission approves that measures whether a collaborative is meeting a specific need of the community the collaborative serves.
Added by Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 769 (H.B. 4611), Sec. 1.01, eff. April 1, 2025.


Text of section effective on April 01, 2025

Sec. 547A.0005.  PLAN REQUIRED FOR CERTAIN COMMUNITY COLLABORATIVES.  (a)  The governing body of a county shall develop and make public a plan detailing the method by which:
(1)  local mental health authorities, municipalities, local law enforcement agencies, and other community stakeholders in the county may coordinate to establish or expand a community collaborative to accomplish the goals of Section 547A.0001;
(2)  entities in the county may leverage funding from private sources to accomplish the goals of Section 547A.0001 through the formation or expansion of a community collaborative; and
(3)  the formation or expansion of a community collaborative may establish or support resources or services to help local law enforcement agencies to divert individuals who have been arrested to appropriate mental health care or substance use treatment.
(b)  The governing body of a county in which an entity that received a grant under former Section 539.002 before September 1, 2017, is located is not required to develop a plan under Subsection (a).
(c)  Two or more counties, each with a population of less than 100,000, may form a joint plan under Subsection (a).
Added by Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 769 (H.B. 4611), Sec. 1.01, eff. April 1, 2025.


Text of section effective on April 01, 2025

Sec. 547A.0006.  ANNUAL REVIEW OF OUTCOME MEASURES.  The commission shall contract with an independent third party to verify annually whether a community collaborative is meeting the outcome measures the entity that operates the collaborative selects under Section 547A.0004.
Added by Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 769 (H.B. 4611), Sec. 1.01, eff. April 1, 2025.


Text of section effective on April 01, 2025

Sec. 547A.0007.  REDUCTION AND CESSATION OF FUNDING.  The commission shall establish processes by which the commission may reduce or cease providing funding to an entity if the community collaborative the entity operates does not meet the outcome measures the entity for the collaborative selects under Section 547A.0004.  The commission shall redistribute on a competitive basis any funds withheld from an entity under this section to other entities operating high-performing collaboratives.
Added by Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 769 (H.B. 4611), Sec. 1.01, eff. April 1, 2025.


Text of section effective on April 01, 2025

Sec. 547A.0008.  RULES.  The executive commissioner shall adopt any rules necessary to implement the community collaborative grant program established under this chapter, including rules establishing:
(1)  the requirements for an entity to be eligible to receive a grant;
(2)  the required elements of a community collaborative an entity operates; and
(3)  permissible and prohibited uses of money an entity receives from a grant the commission makes.
Added by Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 769 (H.B. 4611), Sec. 1.01, eff. April 1, 2025.


Text of section effective on April 01, 2025

Sec. 547A.0009.  ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.  The commission may use a reasonable amount not to exceed five percent of the money the legislature appropriates for the purposes of this chapter to pay administrative costs of implementing this chapter.
Added by Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 769 (H.B. 4611), Sec. 1.01, eff. April 1, 2025.