Health care
BY ANNA MANESS
Williamson County fills mental health gaps with community-based programs
Cost savings by program By partnering with BTCS, Williamson County has saved over $14 million in the past year by offering mental health and diversion programs.
1 Diversion Center
$5,082,684
Since 2003, the Williamson County Behavioral Health Task Force has collaborated with law enforcement, mental health professionals and other agencies to identify gaps in the county’s mental health system. A longstanding partnership with local mental health authority Bluebonnet Trails Community Services saved the county over $14 million from April 2024-March 2025, according to a May 13 Williamson County Commissioners Court presentation. BTCS provides a handful of programs, which offer a stepping stone to individuals suffering from
mental health issues. Williamson County’s investment in BTCS—which receives funding from the state, matching grants and support from other counties it serves—is substantially less than it would cost the county to provide the same services, said Kathy Pierce, Precinct 2 executive assistant and behavioral task force chair, in an email. In the past year, five BTCS programs have saved Williamson County millions of dollars through programs which divert emergency calls, restore inmates to competency—or the ability to stand trial—and more.
2 Mobile crisis outreach team
$4,668,348
3 Competency restoration program
$4,037,202
4 Adult crisis respite unit
$318,349
5 911 dispatch $133,966
$0 $2M $4M $6M
Cost savings
SOURCE: WILLIAMSON COUNTY/COMMUNITY IMPACT
Diversion Center
Mobile crisis outreach team
Competency restoration program
1 When an individual in crisis has com- mitted a nonviolent offense, a law enforce- ment officer may choose to take them to the BTCS Diversion Center to access care and mental health resources. It takes about 11 minutes for law enforcement to drop off an individual, brief BTCS staff and get back on the street, BTCS CEO Mike Maples said. “Providing this service also helps avoid dispatching emergency resources that are not necessary for a call, saving taxpayers’ money,” Pierce said in an email.
2 The mobile crisis outreach team dispatches first responders into the field to de-escalate issues with individuals face- to-face. In the past year, the team received about 4,000 calls, which amounts to almost five per day, Maples said. This year, the team developed a youth response team, which has special-trained responders adept at handling youth cases. Prior to the mobile crisis outreach team, callers would be directed to emergency rooms or hospitals for support.
3 People who have been determined incompetent to stand trial often wait 1-2 years in jail for a state hospital bed, which costs the county $549 per day. Jail-based competency restoration programs provide participants with mental health and substance use treatment, along with education services. On average, jail-based competency resto- ration program participants are restored to competency in 38.7 days. From April 2024- March 2025, the program had 33 Williamson County participants.
What else?
911 dispatch
Adult crisis respite unit
5 BTCS mental health representatives embedded in 911 dispatch can respond to certain calls when Emergency Medical Services or law enforcement isn’t needed. “The next time you call 911, you may hear, ‘Fire, EMS, police or mental health?’” Maples said. “That’s a pretty unique aspect of Williamson County.” From April 2024-March 2025, BTCS dispatchers took 98 calls diverting first responders and 327 calls assisting first responders. By diverting first responders, the county saves about $1,367 per call.
4 The adult crisis respite unit provides an option for adults who don’t need hospital care, allowing people to receive support and observation at a BTCS facility, Maples said. Since the unit and Diversion Center are near each other, many people use the two options instead of going to the hospital, which produces cost savings, Maples said. Out of the 259 admissions to the unit from April 2024-March 2025, 205 patients were discharged home or to outpatient facilities, which is what Bluebonnet Trails wants to see, he said.
The data-driven Williamson County Behavioral Health Task Force identifies gaps in mental health services, Pierce said. BTCS offices were recently remodeled into a 16-bed facility for the new youth therapeutic respite program in Round Rock, Maples said. Construction to remodel the rest of BTCS’s Round Rock campus is underway. This will include building another 16-bed residential unit for Bluebonnet’s youth step-down program. The $4.5 million project will be funded through a state grant and open next year, Maples said.
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GEORGETOWN EDITION
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