Sec. 531.0992. GRANT PROGRAM FOR MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR VETERANS AND THEIR FAMILIES. (a) To the extent funds are appropriated to the commission for that purpose, the commission shall establish a grant program for the purpose of supporting community mental health programs providing services and treatment to veterans and their families.
(b) The commission shall enter into an agreement with a qualified nonprofit or private entity to serve as the administrator of the grant program. The duties of the administrator must include assisting, supporting, and advising the commission in fulfilling the commission's responsibilities with respect to the grant program. The administrator may advise the commission on:
(1) designing, developing, implementing, and managing the program;
(2) determining criteria for local community collaboration and the types of services and deliveries eligible for grants;
(3) eligibility requirements for grant recipients;
(4) designing and managing the competitive bidding processes for applications or proposals and the evaluation and selection of grant recipients;
(5) contractual requirements for grant recipients;
(6) grant requisites and mechanisms;
(7) roles and responsibilities of grant recipients;
(8) reporting requirements for grant recipients;
(9) support and technical capabilities;
(10) requisite timelines and deadlines for the program;
(11) evaluation of the program and grant recipients; and
(12) requirements for reporting on the program to policy makers.
(c) The private entity that supports and administers the grant program shall obtain or secure contributions to the grant program in an amount of money or other consideration at least equal in value to the amount of money awarded to grant recipients by the commission under the grant program. The money or other consideration obtained or secured by the private entity may, as determined by the executive commissioner, include cash or in-kind contributions from private contributors or local governments but may not include state or federal funds.
(d) Money appropriated to, or obtained by, the commission for the grant program must be disbursed directly to grant recipients by the commission, as authorized by the executive commissioner. Money or other consideration obtained or secured by the private entity must be disbursed or provided directly to grant recipients by the private entity, private contributors, or local governments, as authorized by the executive commissioner.
(e) All grants awarded under the grant program must be used for the sole purpose of supporting community programs that provide mental health care services and treatment to veterans and their families and that coordinate mental health care services for veterans and their families with other transition support services.
(f) The commission shall select grant recipients based on the submission of applications or proposals by nonprofit and governmental entities. The executive commissioner shall develop criteria for the evaluation of those applications or proposals and the selection of grant recipients. The selection criteria must:
(1) evaluate and score:
(A) fiscal controls for the project;
(B) project effectiveness;
(C) project cost; and
(D) an applicant's previous experience with grants and contracts;
(2) address the possibility of and method for making multiple awards; and
(3) include other factors that the executive commissioner considers relevant.
(g) The executive commissioner shall use a noncompetitive procurement procedure to select a qualified nonprofit or private entity to administer a pilot program of the grant program established under this section. In selecting the qualified nonprofit or private entity, the executive commissioner must consider the purposes of the program and the duties of the program administrator described in this section.
(h) The executive commissioner shall adopt any rules necessary to implement the grant program under this section.
Added by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 327 (S.B. 55), Sec. 1, eff. June 4, 2015.
Section: Previous 531.0941 531.097 531.0971 531.0972 531.0973 531.0981 531.099 531.0992 531.0994 531.0996 531.0998 531.101 531.1011 531.102 531.1021 NextLast modified: September 28, 2016