Gov. Greg Abbott recently announced $5 million in state grants for forensic psychiatry fellowships at nine Texas medical training centers.
The funding, administered by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, supports one-year accredited programs for licensed physicians specializing in the subspecialty, which applies psychiatric expertise to civil, criminal, and administrative legal proceedings, including evaluations, treatment, and research on safety and risk mitigation.
“Texas remains steadfast in increasing access to mental healthcare across our state,” Abbott said. “These grants will create opportunities for our renowned higher education institutions to develop the next generation of healthcare leaders. I thank the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board for their continued work to expand and improve mental health services that will benefit Texans in every community.”
Higher Education Commissioner Wynn Rosser said, “Higher education institutions will better serve Texans in regions across the state through this grant funding, which state leaders and lawmakers provided in the budget.”
Rosser added, “All nine recipients highlighted innovative programs and strong collaboration with other institutions in their grant applications, demonstrating a shared commitment to make Texas a national leader in forensic psychiatry.”
Each recipient receives $555,555:
Baylor College of Medicine (Houston)
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (Lubbock)
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso
The University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler
The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (Dallas)
The grants align with Abbott’s priorities to expand access to mental health care and strengthen the state’s physician workforce through advanced training, as detailed in the announcement.