Austin, Monitored: On that new mental health diversion center

Travis County’s Mental Health Diversion Center takes another step

From Lina Fisher:

Brown has toured many different diversion facilities across the country, taking design inspiration from Nashville, Lubbock, and Tucson, among others, but he said the goal is to figure out: “What is the perfect mental health diversion center for Travis County?”

A broad range of stakeholders including Integral Care staff, first responders and legal representatives will provide input on the design, which requires two key components: A psychiatric hospital where people in acute crisis can go, and a longer-term respite facility, or diversion center, to act as an alternative to the jail. Travis County needs both, Brown says, because the Austin State Hospital, our de facto psychiatric hospital, “is under-financed, under-resourced, and we can’t use it as a result, basically. So this would be something that Integral Care would run, or Central Health, or the medical school, or some combination of those, and the focus would be: let’s give these people not only the crisis psychiatric care that they need to stabilize (temporarily), but let’s figure out how to make sure they don’t come back – or they come back a lot less often.”

Workforce Solutions expo today

Workforce Solutions Capital Area will hold a career expo on Wednesday, June 25, highlighting job opportunities in Austin’s growing infrastructure and mobility sectors. The event is open to the public and will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the organization’s North Center location on North I-35.

More than 25 employers and training providers are expected to participate, including CapMetro, Austin Energy, Austin Water, Texas Materials and the Laborers Local 1095. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet with hiring representatives, access workforce development resources, and interview for open positions in fields such as construction, electrical work, and skilled trades.

The event will also serve as the public introduction of Megan Fortson, the newly appointed senior director of the Austin Infrastructure Academy, a training initiative under Workforce Solutions. Fortson, who previously worked in higher education and nonprofit workforce programs, will appear alongside Workforce Solutions CEO Tamara Atkinson in a media briefing scheduled just before the expo opens to the public.

The Infrastructure Academy is a key part of the region’s effort to expand training and hiring pipelines in response to projected demand from major infrastructure projects across Central Texas. Workforce Solutions reports that hundreds of job seekers are expected to attend Wednesday’s event.

— Chad Swiatecki

Help get Rain to River

The Watershed Protection Department is inviting residents to weigh in on how the city should address flooding, erosion and water quality challenges over the next decade. As part of the second phase of its strategic planning process, known as Rain to River, the department is collecting public input through a community survey open now through September 15.

The effort is intended to help the department prioritize projects and allocate resources to manage growing environmental pressures, including climate change, urban development, and persistent racial disparities in infrastructure investment. The current phase of engagement asks residents to consider trade-offs, such as whether limited funds should be directed toward a few high-impact projects or distributed more broadly across the city.

The resulting plan is expected to guide investments and policy decisions that aim to protect both people and waterways in the years ahead. Community members can learn more and participate in the “Your Voice, Shaping Our Priorities” survey at RainToRiverATX.com.

— Chad Swiatecki

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ELSEWHERE IN THE NEWS

Though ERCOT is predicting record-high demand for power this summer, the power authority also claims to have the resources to meet that demand.

Austin Business Journal has details on a new mixed-use project in East Austin now known as the East Austin Lab.

KUT checks in with local cannabis shops to get their reaction to Gov. Greg Abbott’s veto of the THC ban.

And AISD will continue its virtual meetings on potential school closures today.

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