Tejas Behavioral Health Management Association

Having recognized that there is rapid change occurring in the organization and delivery of mental health care and associated health care, participating mental health and intellectual developmental disability community centers understood that a dedicated initiative was required if they were to maximize the opportunities inherent in those changes. They decided that working together with mutual efforts would improve the likelihood of success, while spreading the cost of implementing this collaborative strategy. The intent was twofold: to cooperate in creating efficiencies in the performance of certain common administrative and business functions, and to jointly pursue new business opportunities.The following goals were set forth: (1) expand opportunities for improving outcomes and delivering quality services to consumers, (2) create excellent infrastructure that would be consistent across the association, recognized by consumers and marketable to payers; (3) develop contracts for services that would be performed by all parties and create financial margins and/or service capacity gains, (4) develop contracts and administrative improvements for the parties that would create financial margins, enhance service consistency and contribute to the association's brand, and (5) to adopt measurable objectives for these goals and periodically review and revise these objectives based on the needs of the parties and the progress made.