Mental Health and Mental Retardation, Department of
An Audit Report on the Implementation of House Bill 2377 and the Conversion of State-Operated Community Services to Local Control
Report Number 98-017
January 1998
Overall Conclusion
The Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation (Department) has taken many steps to implement the changes outlined in House Bill 2377 (74th Legislature). This legislation includes provisions for a pilot project to study a new authority structure for local service delivery. The new structure separates community mental health and mental retardation centers (community centers) into two distinct roles: the role of local authority and the role of service provider. Separate from House Bill 2377, the Department has successfully converted two state-operated community service entities to local control. This conversion is part of a program to convert all state-operated community services to local control.
At the time of our fieldwork, however, we noted areas that needed further development to successfully implement the pilot project and to ease the transition of state-operated community services to local control.
Key Facts and Findings
While planning at the pilot-site level is well-structured and implemented, planning at the Departmental level does not include an overall action plan that identifies what resources and tasks are needed to accomplish the objectives of House Bill 2377. Such planning is important because there are as many as 32 centers (in addition to the pilot sites) that will convert to the authority/provider structure. In addition, the Department did not provide adequate guidance to state-operated community services transferring to local control. At the time of our fieldwork there were 13 state-operated community service entities.
The Department's monitoring system should be enhanced to help ensure that (1) the program quality of the pilots will not decline without timely detection by the Department and (2) state funds are spent as intended. Including pilot sites in the Department's regular monitoring process and comparing the use of community center expenditures to budgets are two needed enhancements.
The Department does not have an automated cost accounting system as mandated by the Legislature in 1991. Such a system would enable management to review and analyze the cost of providing community services.
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