Section 38-4-15 - Veterans Mental Health Services Program; grant programs(a) As used in this Code section, the term: (1) "Addictive disease" shall have the same meaning as set forth in Code Section 37-1-1.(2) "Behavioral health services" means services which are designed to prevent or ameliorate the effects of mental illness or addictive disease.(3) "Eligible person" means a service member, veteran, or a family member of such service member or veteran.(4) "Family member" means an individual with a close familial relationship, including, but not limited to, a spouse, parent, child, stepchild, sibling, or grandparent.(5) "Mental illness" shall have the same meaning as set forth in Code Section 37-1-1.(6) "Program" means the Veterans Mental Health Services Program created pursuant to subsection (b) of this Code section.(7) "Service member" means an active duty member of the regular or reserve component of the United States armed forces, the United States Coast Guard, the Georgia National Guard, or the Georgia Air National Guard on ordered federal duty for a period of 90 days or longer.(8) "Veteran" means a person who is a former member of the United States armed forces, the United States Coast Guard, the Georgia National Guard, or the Georgia Air National Guard, regardless of their role or discharge status.(b) The Department of Veterans Service shall create and administer a grant program, to be known as the Veterans Mental Health Services Program, to aid in the provision of behavioral health services through nonprofit community behavioral health programs to eligible persons.(c) Subject to the availability of funding, the Department of Veterans Service shall award competitive matching grants to establish and expand nonprofit community behavioral health programs that:(1) Provide behavioral health services to eligible persons in the community;(2) Utilize evidence based practices;(3) Integrate military cultural competency training for program staff members; and(4) Connect eligible persons to appropriate community based behavioral health services in a timely manner on discharge from the nonprofit community behavioral health program.(d) The Department of Veterans Service, in implementing the Veterans Mental Health Services Program, shall develop grant program qualification requirements for applicants, including, but not limited to, the provision:(1) That applicants must provide behavioral health services to service members, veterans, and their families;(2) Of priority status for program eligibility for locations within 50 miles of a military base; and(3) Of priority status for applicants seeking grants for operating costs attached to a qualifying project for which capital investments have already been made.(e) If taxpayer funded grants total fifty percent of non profits total funding with any combination of federal, state, or local grants non profit shall be subject to the provisions of Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50.(f) The Department of Veterans Service shall promulgate such other rules and regulations as necessary to implement this Code section.Added by 2023 Ga. Laws 26,§ 1, eff. 4/25/2023.