{"id":11498,"date":"2025-06-12T06:36:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T11:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mentalhe180dev.wpenginepowered.com\/case-study\/texas-health-human-services-commission-behavioral-health-division\/"},"modified":"2025-10-16T13:40:03","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T18:40:03","slug":"texas-health-human-services-commission-behavioral-health-division","status":"publish","type":"case-study","link":"https:\/\/staging.grafik.mentalhealthfirstaid.org\/es\/case-study\/texas-health-human-services-commission-behavioral-health-division\/","title":{"rendered":"C\u00f3mo el HHSC de Texas form\u00f3 a miles de personas en primeros auxilios de salud mental"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Texas invests $8 billion biennially at the state level through general revenue, Medicaid, and local and federal dollars to increase access to behavioral health services provided by multiple agencies across the entire state. Providing Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) to state employees \u2014 particularly those in public school districts \u2014 is an integral part of these efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since their 2014 fiscal year, Texas has trained 24,000 school district employees, 3,000 Health and Human Services employees and more than 17,000 community members in Mental Health First Aid<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Coordinated Multi-Agency Effort to Reform Mental Health in Texas<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 2013, Texas legislators took stock of the state\u2019s mental health services and discovered they were not meeting the needs of the population. The increased incidence of mental health challenges among youth and incidents taking place in schools nationwide were particularly important in generating the necessary political will to address this problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To improve coordination between state agencies and to create a strategic approach to providing behavioral health services, lawmakers called for the creation of a statewide mental health coordinator position through the 2014\u201315 General Appropriations Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sonja Gaines, who filled the newly created position of associate commissioner for mental health coordination, soon realized there was a gap in knowledge around mental health among state agencies encountering individuals living with mental illness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThere are several agencies like school districts, criminal justice agencies and child protective services serving children in foster care that all touch people who might have a mental health condition. Some of their employees lacked the basic understanding of how to respond to mental health issues, which impacted individuals\u2019 success. We needed an intervention to educate [state employees], and the Mental Health First Aid program could do just that.\u201d
\u2014 Sonja Gaines<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Because of Gaines and her department\u2019s efforts, Mental Health First Aid training soon became available for all school district educators, and eventually expanded to include all staff working in Texas schools. Gaines recalls some of the main reasons for focusing on bringing Mental Health First Aid to school settings across Texas: \u201c[Some children were] ending up in psych hospitals and detention centers as a result of untreated mental illness. Our legislators also wanted to make sure school staff felt equipped to identify and prevent situations such as shootings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides providing the training to school district employees, other Texas state agencies are working together to provide the training to employees most likely to interact with vulnerable populations, such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n