The clinic at 1111 E. Cesar Chavez St. is one of Central Health's 255 current provider locations across Travis County. (Jessica McLaren/Community Impact)
The $1.015 billion budget directs $127.5 million total toward crisis and recovery care services, funding new psychiatric beds, a mental health crisis center and expanded treatment access across the county.
Central Health is Travis County's hospital district, funding and coordinating care for low-income residents through partners such as CommUnityCare Health Centers, Sendero Health Plans and local mental health authority Integral Care. Central Health's board of managers first adopted the budget Sept. 9 before Commissioners Court gave it final approval.
Why it matters
About 950 Travis County residents experiencing mental illness cycle among emergency rooms, jails and the street, costing an estimated $137 million annually, or $144,000 per person, according to Meadows Mental Health Public Policy Institute estimates cited in a Sept. 10 statement from Central Health.
Untreated mental health needs among the workforce cost Travis County between $1.1 billion and $1.8 billion annually, Central Health CEO Dr. Pat Lee said at a Sept. 15 news conference.
"For too many people in Travis County, getting mental healthcare means moving from one disconnected system to another, often only during a crisis," he said. "These investments will help connect people to care sooner so fewer are left cycling among emergency rooms, jails and the street."
Much of the budget builds on No Wrong Door, a partnership between Central Health, Travis County, the city of Austin, Integral Care and local organizations to give individuals a single, coordinated path into care, County Judge Andy Brown said at the news conference.
County officials said the new investments will let them pilot expanded diversion and deflection efforts under that framework.
Mike McIntyre, a peer support specialist with Integral Care, shared his experience navigating local services in recovery. He highlighted sustained peer and social support as critical to his sobriety and praised No Wrong Door as the coordinated access model he needed.
Mike McIntyre, a peer support specialist with Integral Care, spoke about his recovery journey during a Sept. 15 news conference. Jessica McLaren/Community Impact
The breakdown
The $54 million in new mental health funding includes:
$33.1 million for 22 new inpatient psychiatric beds and 10 psychiatric emergency department bays
$16 million to plan and launch a Mental Health Crisis Care Center, including $3 million for a Sobering Center
$1.5 million for jail-based and justice-involved health support
$1 million for an additional crisis care team, including two psychiatrists, two care managers and one counselor
$1 million to expand medication-assisted treatment
$1 million for long-acting injectable medications
$400,000 for additional psychiatric emergency services through Integral Care
Central Health's board adopted a tax rate of $0.132863 per $100 valuation as part of the budget, raising the median homeowner's annual bill by about $36, per the organization's Sept. 10 release. More than half of homesteads will see an increase of $22 or less.
The district is also expanding care sites, with Hancock Headquarters' second phase opening in January and further expansions planned at Colony Park, Cameron Center and Northview, per the budget presentation.
Central Health's Hancock Headquarters on Sept. 15, which is under construction ahead of its Phase 2 opening in January 2027. Jessica McLaren/Community Impact
The 22 new psychiatric beds could open within three to six months, officials said at the news conference, while a standalone 60-bed crisis center is roughly four years out.
Existing pilots have already served nearly 15,000 clients, including more than 2,100 people diverted from jail, and produced more than 315 diversion admissions as an alternative to incarceration, Brown said.
What they're saying
"You should not have to go to jail to access healthcare or mental healthcare," Brown said.
"Central Health now has a fiscal year '27 budget that protects the essential clinical services our patients depend on while committing a historic $54 million in new investments to mental healthcare," Lee said.
"This is an excellent commitment from our healthcare district to serve some of the most vulnerable healthcare needs of our residents," Mayor Kirk Watson's office said in a Sept. 9 statement.
What's next
County and Central Health officials said the new psychiatric beds are the fastest-moving piece of the investment, while the full crisis center build-out will take years.
Dell Medical School is separately evaluating Travis County's diversion programs to measure whether they reduce repeat cycling through jails and emergency rooms.
Austin City Council is expected to receive a briefing on the No Wrong Door initiative during its Oct. 6 work session.
