The Chief of Police for the Houston Police Department requests City Council approve an Ordinance authorizing HPD to apply for and accept a grant award from the U.S. Department of Justice for the FY15 Justice and Mental Health Collaboration (JMHC) Grant in the amount of $250,000. The primary purpose of the JMHC grant program is to increase public safety by facilitating collaboration among the criminal justice, mental health and substance abuse treatment systems.
The FY15 JMHC grant will be used for HPD's 911 Mental Health Crisis Call Diversion Program, which seeks to divert eligible non-emergency crisis intervention police calls directly to a mental health professional with the Houston Emergency Communications (HEC) Center. This will allow more effective use of law enforcement resources. The diversion program is a collaborative effort between HPD's Mental Health Unit, the HEC Center, and the Harris Center for Mental Health and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
The JMHC Grant will fund personnel, travel and supplied to support HPD's 911 Mental Health Crisis Diversion Program. The funding period began October 1, 2015 and ends September 30, 2018, with no cash match required and an in-kind contribution of $207,579.