Project Grant H79FG001511

The Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration awarded $250,000 to Austin-Travis County Mental Health And Mental Retardation Center, operating as Austin Travis County Integral Care, on September 30, 2026, under the 988 and Behavioral Health Crisis Services Programs (CFDA 93.00R).

Integral Care will build lasting capacity within its Mobile Crisis Outreach Team (MCOT) to deliver systematic follow-up care to individuals at risk of suicide after hospital, emergency department, or crisis residential discharge. The project addresses a specific capacity gap: currently only about 50% of psychiatric inpatient and emergency department discharges receive connection to follow-up services. MCOT encounters in Integral Care's catchment area grew from 2,768 in 2023 to 3,909 in 2025.

The population of focus spans persons at risk of suicide in Travis County who contact 988 or Integral Care's 24/7 crisis helpline; are discharged from hospital emergency departments or inpatient psychiatric units following suicide-related visits; are discharged from crisis residential programs; or are seen at urgent walk-in clinics or psychiatric emergency services and identified as moderate-to-high suicide risk without current connection to ongoing behavioral health care. Approximately 80% of individuals served are expected to be adults and 20% youth, with the largest single cohort ages 25–39 and more than half within the 25–54 range. This population presents with high-acuity suicide risk, frequently including co-occurring substance use and overdose risk, prior crisis system involvement, and unmet need for connection to ongoing mental health and substance use services.

The award covers the period from September 30, 2026, through September 29, 2029, with place of performance in Austin, Texas 78704.