Behavioral Health Innovation Grant Program (BHIP)

Winter Daniel
behavioralhealth@highered.texas.gov

The Behavioral Health Innovation Grant Program (BHIP) offers grants for public 2-year institutions of higher education in Texas that provide academic programs to increase the number of mental health professionals in the state. The program is seeking innovative projects that address the needs related to mental health professionals, educators, school administrators, and related professionals overseeing mental health programs and the delivery of mental health services.

The program is designed to support the development and expansion of innovative programs that recruit, train, and retain mental health professionals or professionals in related fields to address behavioral health workforce shortages across the state and provide funding to eligible institutions of higher education that implement strategies to strengthen the behavioral health workforce pipeline and improve access to care, including rural and medically underserved areas.

Funding may support activities including, but not limited to:

• Providing salary increases or stipends to faculty
• Expanding existing academic programs
• Developing new workforce pathways
• Implementing partnerships with other institutions of higher education or public schools to support early high school recruitment into behavioral health programs
• Incorporating incentive strategies to increase student enrollment, completion, and entry into the behavioral health workforce

Proposed projects must:

1. Demonstrate regional and statewide workforce needs for mental health professionals or professionals in related fields
2. Describe an innovative approach to addressing behavioral health workforce shortages
3. Include strategies to increase student recruitment, enrollment, completion, or workforce entry in the mental health field
4. Incorporate measurable outcomes to evaluate program effectiveness
5. Demonstrate the ability to be scaled, sustained, evaluated for impact, and adapted in response to workforce and community needs, particularly for medically underserved areas

Eligible applicants are public 2-year institution of higher education, as defined in Texas Education Code, §61.003(2).

Target roles:

• Psychiatrists and psychologists
• Licensed professional counselors (LPCs)
• Licensed marriage and family therapists (LMFTs)
• Licensed clinical social workers (LCSWs)
• Related behavioral health and support professionals

Award ceiling: $1,000,000
Project period: Approximately March 1, 2027 - February 28, 2029
Estimated number of awards: 5
Estimated total program funding: $5,000,000

Links to additional guidance, application instructions, and the online application portal are available on the program website.