$33,037,776

HHSC IS APPLYING FOR THE 988 STATE AND TERRITORY IMPROVEMENT OPPORTUNITY IN ORDER TO IMPROVE TEXAS' RESPONSE TO 988 CONTACTS (INCLUDING CALLS, CHATS, AND TEXTS) ORIGINATING IN TEXAS. - THE TEXAS HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION IS APPLYING FOR THE 988 STATE AND TERRITORY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT IN ORDER TO IMPROVE TEXAS' EXISTING 988 CRISIS RESPONSE SYSTEM. HHSC PLANS TO SERVE ALL TEXANS EXPERIENCING MENTAL HEALTH CRISES BY CONNECTING THEM TO A TRAINED CRISIS COUNSELOR WHO CAN ADDRESS THEIR IMMEDIATE NEEDS OR CONNECT THEM TO THE APPROPRIATE RESOURCES. IF AWARDED, HHSC PLANS TO IMPLEMENT A MULTI-FACETED APPROACH TO IMPROVE THE ALREADY EXISTING 988 SERVICES. THIS INCLUDES INCREASING THE IN-STATE ANSWER RATE, IMPROVING THE 988 INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE COORDINATION OF CRISIS RESPONSE SERVICES, IMPROVING 988 SUPPORT FOR HIGH-RISK POPULATIONS, ENSURING COMPREHENSIVE QUALITY ASSURANCE, AND INCREASING AWARENESS OF 988 AND AVAILABLE RESOURCES THROUGHOUT THE STATE. IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE THESE GOALS, HHSC WILL LEVERAGE ITS EXISTING ROBUST CRISIS CONTINUUM AND CONDUCT A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF CURRENT STATEWIDE CAPABILITIES TO INFORM FUTURE DIRECTION DURING THE PROJECT PERIOD WHICH MAY INCLUDE CONTRACTING OR SUBCONTRACTING WITH ENTITIES TO EXPAND IN-STATE 988 SERVICE CAPACITY. HHSC PLANS TO CONTINUE BUILDING ON THE WORK ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH THE 988 STATE AND TERRITORY COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT AWARDED TO HHSC FOR APRIL 2022 THROUGH APRIL 2024. IN JANUARY 2022, TEXAS' IN-STATE ANSWER RATE WAS 45 PERCENT, AND BY APRIL 2023, THE IN-STATE ANSWER RATE INCREASED TO 75 PERCENT. ADDITIONALLY, THROUGH THE WORK OF THE 988 STATE AND TERRITORY COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT, HHSC PURSUED SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENTS IN THE STATEWIDE 988 CRISIS SYSTEM BY EXPANDING PRIMARY AND BACKUP COVERAGE. HHSC WILL CONTINUE TO ALLOCATE FUNDING TO THE FOUR 988 CENTERS PROVIDING PRIMARY COVERAGE AND ONE 988 CENTER PROVIDING BACKUP COVERAGE IN ORDER TO EXPAND WORKFORCE AND REINFORCE SERVICES. HHSC HAS ALREADY BEGUN CREATING A COMMUNICATION STRATEGY PLAN TO ENSURE EDUCATION REGARDING 988 IS ACCESSIBLE TO ALL TEXANS, ESPECIALLY THOSE IN HIGH-RISK POPULATIONS. HHSC IS COMMITTED TO ENHANCING ITS QUALITY ASSURANCE PLAN TO ENSURE THOSE SERVED THROUGH 988 ARE RECEIVING THE BEST SERVICE POSSIBLE. HHSC AND ITS PARTNERS ARE STRONGLY COMMITTED TO WORKING TOWARDS THE MINIMUM REQUIRED IN-STATE ANSWER RATE OF 90 PERCENT BY THE END OF FISCAL YEAR 2026. HHSC WILL CONTRACT WITH PARTNERS TO ENSURE EFFORTS ARE INCREASED IN RECRUITING, HIRING, TRAINING, AND EXPANDING THE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH WORKFORCE IN TEXAS TO UNIFORMLY RESPOND LOCALLY TO PERSONS WHO CALL, CHAT, OR TEXT 988 SERVICES.

Verbatim from USAspending.gov. Capitalization, abbreviations, and codes are unchanged.

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• —2025 TANF$540.5M
• —SSBG-2024$142.2M