Early data shows promising results for Travis County’s mental health diversion pilot program, which offers mental health services instead of jail time for people accused of low-level crimes.
The program launched in October 2024 in collaboration with Integral Care, the county’s mental health authority.
It was inspired by a study conducted by the Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin. The study found at least 40% of people in Travis County Jail have a mental health diagnosis. The report also found many people with mental illness were jailed after committing low-level offenses, like criminal trespass or obstruction of a highway, and were repeatedly cycling through the system.
Data collected through the first year of the pilot program shows it appears to help break that cycle.
The data found that within 30 days after being discharged from the psychiatric emergency services component of the program — a 24-hour clinic that offers immediate mental healthcare — 66% of people did not have another crisis episode at Integral Care, 94% were not arrested and 72% did not go into an emergency department.
“The data really is supporting that through [2025] we have seen benefits of connection to care for individuals, reduction in arrests [and] emergency department utilization in crisis episodes,” said Marisa Malik, the director of crisis services and justice initiatives at Integral Care, while presenting the data to the commissioners court on Tuesday.
Malik said the data for people referred to the therapeutic diversion program (TDP) — a long-term option where people can stay for up to 90 days while getting help accessing insurance, medication, job training and stable housing — was also promising.
Within 30 days after being discharged, 91% of people were connected to behavioral healthcare, 99% did not have another mental health crisis episode at Integral Care, 80% were not arrested and 87% did not visit an emergency department.
Deborah Cohen, a mental health researcher at UT’s Dell Medical School, told the commissioners court Tuesday that among that cohort, “there [were] a number of individuals that were actually able to obtain a job and start working during their stay at TDP.”
Cohen said there are some “holes in the data.” For instance, the pilot program is voluntary, which may show more effective results than for the involuntary groups the county eventually intends on adding. There also isn’t a control group to compare to.
“We want to continue to look over time, so if someone went to TDP, did they have any arrests in the next year? Right now, they’ve only been looking at 30 days out, but we could look further out,” Cohen said.
People can be referred to the program by emergency medical professionals, police officers, justice personnel or through The Sobering Center, a diversion center for people who are publicly intoxicated.
Malik said Integral Care is working on ensuring more people are being referred before entering the jail system, but so far, most referrals are coming from justice personnel after an individual has been booked.
“We have over 50 people waiting to be admitted, [with the] average time of admission anywhere from 6 to 8 weeks,” Malik said. “And those are people who have been referred from the jail, they’re currently in custody waiting for an alternative option.”
Travis County Judge Andy Brown said the program could accept more people at a shorter wait time if it had a bigger space, but there’s only 25 beds available for TPD.
The county has been searching for years for a building to house the program long-term. Last legislative session, Brown asked state lawmakers if the county could buy the empty buildings at the Austin State Hospital site for the program.
The bill received bipartisan support but ultimately died in session. Brown said he plans on going back to state lawmakers during the 2027 legislative session to ask to purchase state land again.
“This pilot, though, is absolutely amazing,” he said. “I think the data that we’re getting from it will help future arguments at the state level to say, ‘Hey, this really works, help us do more of it here.’ And I think that’s where we’re hopefully heading.”
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