In accordance with Texas Health and Safety Code (THSC), §533.0352 (Local Authority Planning for Local Service Area), “each local mental health and intellectual disability authority shall develop a local service area plan to maximize the authority’s services by using the best and most cost-effective means of using federal, state, and local resources to meet the needs of the local community according to the relative priority of those needs.”

THSC §533.03521 requires the LMHA to “develop a local network development plan regarding the configuration and development of the local mental health authority’s provider network. The plan must reflect local needs and priorities and maximize consumer choice and access to qualified service providers.”

Community Participation

Local planning involves the input of many stakeholders. The process of collecting public input is a critical element of the entire planning process. The LMHA must develop a process for identifying and soliciting input from stakeholders that ensures:

1. Planning efforts are inclusive and participants represent the diversity of opinion, culture, and ethnicity of the local service area;
2. Stakeholders have opportunities to participate effectively in the planning process; and
3. The Planning and Network Advisory Committee is involved to the maximum extent possible.

Methods for gathering feedback from the community may include focus groups, discussion forums, meetings, surveys, and public hearings. The local authority must use a variety of methods, locations, and times to collect information from a representative cross sample of its stakeholders, including:

1. consumers and family members,
2. mental health service providers,
3. healthcare providers,
4. advocacy organizations,
5. representatives of local government,
6. law enforcement, and
7. other interested persons