Youth SIM Mapping Applications Now Open!

JCMH plans to hold five juvenile justice SIM Mapping workshops in 2025. Applications for Youth SIM Mapping workshops are now available on the JCMH website.

Youth SIM Mapping is a helpful tool for communities interested in developing a detailed picture of how youth with behavioral health needs move through the juvenile justice system, identifying system gaps and local resources for justice-involved youth, creating shared priorities to improve systems and service responses for justice-involved youth, generating action plans to implement the priorities, and increasing cross-system communication and collaboration.

After the workshop, communities will receive a detailed report (including all identified resources, gaps, and best practices), a systems map, an Executive Summary, and copies of all local Action Plans. Email us at jcmh@txcourts.gov with any questions!

Rural Mental Health Request for Application

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission is accepting applications for the Rural Mental Health Initiative Grant Program. Through this program, HHSC will award grants to rural-serving Local Mental Health Authorities, Local Behavioral Health Authorities, nonprofit organizations, or governmental entities to address the mental health needs of individuals with mental illness or serious emotional disturbance residing in rural Texas.

The purpose of this program is to establish or expand regional behavioral health centers for adults experiencing mental illness, children experiencing serious emotional disturbance, or jail diversion centers for adults experiencing mental illness, and to provide mental health treatment, prevention, and early intervention in the LMHA or LBHA service areas to provide additional forensic beds and services, inpatient and outpatient mental health services for both adults and children, and services to reduce recidivism and justice involvement among persons with mental illness or serious emotional disturbance.

Funds are available to serve one or more rural Texas counties, meaning the proposed service area must include one or more Texas counties with a population of less than 250,000. Additional documentation and the application are available here, and the submission deadline is July 3, 2024 at 10:30 CDT.

Reentry Learning Collaborative

The Health and Human Services Commission Office of Forensic Coordination is excited to announce the launch of the Reentry Learning Collaborative. This learning collaborative will support local teams in developing comprehensive reentry programs that provide continuity of care and recovery support for people with mental illness or co-occurring substance use disorders who are returning to the community following incarceration in a local jail.

Learning collaborative members will receive guidance on and discuss benefits re-enrollment, linkages to medication support, medical records sharing, and recovery support services, including peer recovery support, housing, transportation, and employment services. Click here for more information on the collaborative and a link to the application. The application deadline is July 31, 2024.