Travis County approves $100,000 loan to Sobering Center

On Tuesday, the Commissioners Court unanimously approved a $100,000 loan to Sobering Center Austin to prevent the facility from having to make cuts as it awaits funding from the state Health and Human Services Commission. According to Travis County Judge Nancy Hohengarten, who chairs the Sobering Center board, the organization, which is a local government corporation, successfully applied for a federal grant aimed at addiction treatment that is distributed by HHSC. The organization was awarded the grant, which is distributed as a reimbursement once the center meets certain deliverables. However, the agency has been slow to deliver on the payments due to a new payment system that was recently implemented, said Hohengarten. While she believes the Sobering Center will ultimately meet all of the necessary deliverables and get roughly $600,000 from the state, in the near term the center needs immediate financial assistance in order to meet payroll or it may have to reduce hours. The deal the court approved calls for the center to pay back the county in the next fiscal year.