2013 Texas Statutes
GOVERNMENT CODE
TITLE 4 - EXECUTIVE BRANCH
SUBTITLE I - HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
CHAPTER 539 - COMMUNITY COLLABORATIVES

GOVERNMENT CODE

TITLE 4. EXECUTIVE BRANCH

SUBTITLE I. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

CHAPTER 539. COMMUNITY COLLABORATIVES

Sec. 539.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:

(1) "Department" means the Department of State Health Services.

(2) "Executive commissioner" means the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission.

Added by Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1143 (S.B. 58), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2013.

Sec. 539.002. GRANTS FOR ESTABLISHMENT AND EXPANSION OF COMMUNITY COLLABORATIVES. (a) To the extent funds are appropriated to the department for that purpose, the department 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 persons experiencing homelessness and mental illness. The department may make a maximum of five grants, which must be made in the most populous municipalities in this state that are located in counties with a population of more than one million. In awarding grants, the department shall give special consideration to entities establishing a new collaborative.

(b) The department shall require each entity awarded a grant under this section to:

(1) leverage additional funding from private sources in an amount that is at least equal to the amount of the grant awarded under this section; and

(2) provide evidence of significant coordination and collaboration between the entity, local mental health authorities, municipalities, and other community stakeholders in establishing or expanding a community collaborative funded by a grant awarded under this section.

Added by Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1143 (S.B. 58), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2013.

Sec. 539.003. ACCEPTABLE USES OF GRANT MONEY. An entity shall use money received from a grant made by the department and private funding sources for the establishment or expansion of a community collaborative, provided that the collaborative must be self-sustaining within seven years. Acceptable uses for the money include:

(1) the development of the infrastructure of the collaborative and the start-up costs of the collaborative;

(2) the establishment, operation, or maintenance of other community service providers in the community served by the collaborative, including intake centers, detoxification units, sheltering centers for food, workforce training centers, microbusinesses, and educational centers;

(3) the provision of clothing, hygiene products, and medical services to and the arrangement of transitional and permanent residential housing for persons served by the collaborative;

(4) the provision of mental health services and substance abuse treatment not readily available in the community served by the collaborative;

(5) the provision of information, tools, and resource referrals to assist persons served by the collaborative in addressing the needs of their children; and

(6) the establishment and operation of coordinated intake processes, including triage procedures, to protect the public safety in the community served by the collaborative.

Added by Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1143 (S.B. 58), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2013.

Sec. 539.004. ELEMENTS OF COMMUNITY COLLABORATIVES. (a) If appropriate, an entity may incorporate into the community collaborative operated by the entity 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 persons who were recently incarcerated into the community, services for veterans, and strategies for persons served by the collaborative 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 persons from receiving services from the collaborative to becoming integrated into the community served by the collaborative through community relationships and family supports.

Added by Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1143 (S.B. 58), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2013.

Sec. 539.005. OUTCOME MEASURES FOR COMMUNITY COLLABORATIVES. Each entity that receives a grant from the department 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 the implementation and operation of the collaborative:

(1) persons served by the collaborative will find employment that results in those persons having incomes that are at or above 100 percent of the federal poverty level;

(2) persons served by the collaborative will find permanent housing;

(3) persons served by the collaborative will complete alcohol or substance abuse programs;

(4) the collaborative will help start social businesses in the community or engage in job creation, job training, or other workforce development activities;

(5) there will be a decrease in the use of jail beds by persons served by the collaborative;

(6) there will be a decrease in the need for emergency care by persons served by the collaborative;

(7) there will be 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 that measures whether a collaborative is meeting a specific need of the community served by the collaborative and that is approved by the department.

Added by Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1143 (S.B. 58), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2013.

Sec. 539.006. ANNUAL REVIEW OF OUTCOME MEASURES. The department shall contract with an independent third party to verify annually whether a community collaborative is meeting the outcome measures under Section 539.005 selected by the entity that operates the collaborative.

Added by Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1143 (S.B. 58), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2013.

Sec. 539.007. REDUCTION AND CESSATION OF FUNDING. The department shall establish processes by which the department may reduce or cease providing funding to an entity if the community collaborative operated by the entity does not meet the outcome measures selected by the entity for the collaborative under Section 539.005 or is not self-sustaining after seven years. The department shall redistribute any funds withheld from an entity under this section to other entities operating high-performing collaboratives on a competitive basis.

Added by Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1143 (S.B. 58), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2013.

Sec. 539.008. RULES. The executive commissioner shall adopt any rules necessary to implement the community collaborative grant program established under this chapter, including rules to establish the requirements for an entity to be eligible to receive a grant, the required elements of a community collaborative operated by an entity, and permissible and prohibited uses of money received by an entity from a grant made by the department under this chapter.

Added by Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1143 (S.B. 58), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2013.