The County Connection: Wishing All of Harris County a Safe and Happy Holiday Season

In Harris County, it’s our job to do everything we can to keep residents safe when disaster strikes. While we may not be able to stop a hurricane from hitting our coast, we CAN take steps to help prevent petrochemical incidents that lead to explosions and fires and threaten the health of so many people. Last month Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo unveiled the RAAM — the latest addition to Harris County’s environmental tools to monitor, detect, and report threats to air quality in Harris County. The RAAM can detect a wide array of pollutants, monitor weather, and even launch drones to find leaks using thermal imaging.

The RAAM is just the latest addition to a broader network of monitoring equipment already deployed across Harris County. Since 2019, Commissioners Court has allocated over $11 million on environmental protection, the most significant enhancement of County environmental protections in at least 30 years. Efforts include the launch of a community monitoring network that brings together data from a number of sources and monitor types to provide a more complete picture of air quality in Harris County. As part of this network 11 additional monitors have been added to the previously installed 12 ozone monitors throughout the county, and 10 more will be added soon. The county has also procured specialized thermal cameras that help detect unauthorized emissions from a distance. This is in addition to the County’s work inspecting Concrete batch plants and pursuing litigation against illegal polluters, as well as developing a risk mapping tool for residents to use to locate potential sources of air pollution. Harris County will continue working hard to ensure our air is clean and safe for all residents.

The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare how critical workers are. When many of us were sheltering at-home during the early stages of the COVID19 pandemic, Essential Workers were there for us – stocking grocery shelves, caring for children, building homes and making repairs, cleaning office buildings, the list goes on and on. Last month Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and Commissioner’s Court approved the creation of the Harris County Essential Workers Board (HCEWB) for 13 representatives from essential fields such as transportation, construction, domestic work, and retail that can provide valuable input on how Harris County’s policies and programs can support essential workers.The Board is the first of its kind in the nation, and will focus on protecting communities, workers and businesses during public health emergencies; supporting worker-led, equitable, and cooperative solutions to improving worker’s protections on the job; and promoting safe and healthy workplaces across Harris County. Each Commissioners Court member will appoint a representative through an application process administered by the Harris County Boards and Commissions Office (HCBCO), and the remaining seats will be filled with persons nominated by those members. The Department of Economic Equity and Opportunity (DEEO) will oversee and facilitate the activities of the HCEWB, with the first meeting scheduled tentatively for June 2022. Watch this space for more updates!

Harris County offers a myriad of services and programs for residents in need, such as persons experiencing homelessness, youth aging out of foster care, or adults exiting prison. This assistance tends to be spread out over several county programs which help with services like providing daycare or securing food, housing, or employment. Unfortunately, the departments that run these programs often work independently, which prohibits the sharing of useful information, limits the ability to pool and maximize available funds, and hinders the effectiveness of support provided to clients in need.

In November, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and Comissioner’s Court invested over $388,000 to launch the ACCESS Harris Program, which will ensure that departments are working together to coordinate care and eliminate any gaps in services for our most vulnerable communities. ACCESS Harris’s strategy and management will be led by a Safety Net Collaborative made up of executive leaders of the safety net departments and agencies. Delivery of services will be managed by Care Coordination Cohorts, consisting of case management staff from each of the various County agencies that make up the cohort. The cohorts will meet regularly to discuss individuals enrolled in the program and their needs, ensure that they are referred to the appropriate services, and track their progress through the various services that they are offered. The program has a launch date of March 2022.

In 2020, there were 13,327 rapes reported in Texas and approximately 2,495 reported rapes in Harris County. However, according to a report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics using data from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), only approximately 23% of survivors reported their victimization to law enforcement in 2020. There are many reasons why survivors of sexual assault may choose not to report their victimization, such as fear of retaliation, fear of being blamed, or a belief that criminal justice systems will either not help or be harmful. In addition, survivors of sexual assault have traditionally not received proper attention and treatment by the criminal justice system, reinforcing their reluctance to come forward.

In response, Sexual Assault Response Teams (SARTs) were developed advise County governments on how to prioritize survivors’ needs and improve community response to sexual assault. SARTs are teams including individuals from different disciplines, community organizations, and criminal justice system agencies that provide a holistic and collaborative approach to responding to and treating survivors of sexual violence. In October, Commissioners Court approved a motion directing the Harris County Justice Administration Department (JAD) to form a Harris County Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) in full compliance with SB 476, a Texas mandate ordering the creation of county-based sexual assault response teams (SARTs). The newly created SART consists of the members of the pre-existing Sexual Assault Steering Committee, which includes representatives from a variety of law enforcement, health, non-profit, and governmental institutions such as Houston Area Women’s Center (HAWC), the Houston Police Department, and the Harris Forensic Science Center, among others. SART held its first meeting on November 19, 2021.

Too often, Harris County residents experience different opportunities and outcomes depending on their zip code, race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, the language they speak and/or other characteristics. In 2019, the gender wage gap in Harris County was 20% larger than in comparable urban areas such as Los Angeles County (12%), Cook County (12%), or New York City (8%). Last year, a disparity study completed by Colette Holt & Associates estimated that only 9% of Harris County contracting dollars were directed to Minority/Women Owned Business Enterprises (M/WBEs), compared to M/WBE availability of 28% in related industries. Harris County has been working hard to rectify these inequalities by establishing the Office of Economic Opportunity as well as adapting inclusion guidelines for contractors.

In November, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and Commissioners Court adopted new guidelines for advancing equity across county programs and services and equity commitments for county departments. Specifically, the guidelines commit the Office of County Administration to deliver key initiatives to implement equity over the next seven months and outline strategies and opportunities for county departments to advance equity.

Bail bonds are big business in a criminal justice system that prioritizes profits over public safety. When a bond is set for a suspect in a crime, they can approach a bail bond business to post the bond for them. Bondsmen typically post the entirety of the bond amount and collect a percentage of that bond from a defendant as payment. For example, if a defendant had a $10,000 bond, ordinarily they would pay $1,000 (10%) to the bondsman. However, many bondsmen are currently agreeing to one to two percent payment, well below the typical 10% that defendants usually have to pay, allowing many more defendants to get out on bond than usual.

Last month, Harris County Commissioner’s Court voted to develop a dashboard to record data on bail bonds in Harris County, including information on the offense charged, the amount of bond issued, the identity of the individual or firm securing the bond, and any other relevant information. The dashboard will encourage more transparency around bond amounts and the amounts defendants actually pay to bondsmen. While bail bond contracts are private, and Harris County cannot force bondsmen to disclose their contract terms with defendants, this is a first step in determining what can be done at the County or state level to increase transparency around bond contracts and their effect on justice and crime.

There are 17.4 million veterans in the United States, and based on recent U.S. Census statistics Harris County is home to more than 180,000 of these veterans, the largest veteran population in Texas. No veteran should go without benefits they rightfully earned, such as medical care or the free college tuition they were promised, and their families shouldn’t have to fight through red tape to get the death benefits our nation owes them.

Over the past two years Harris County has done the quiet work of meeting our commitment to veterans. The county’s Veterans Services Department has nearly doubled the number of benefit claims and appeals it has handled compared with last year and expanded its crisis and suicide intervention services for troubled veterans. We are also proud that Harris County’s Precinct 2 Veterans Services has become the only National Association of County Veteran Service Officers nationally accredited Veteran Service Officer (VSO) team in Harris County.

We can never fully repay our debt of gratitude to the many veterans who have served in the U.S, but on November 11th, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and Commissioner’s Court passed a resolution to honor the service of the Harris County Veterans who bravely defended our nation. To all of our Harris County veterans — thank you for your service.

As part of the County Judge’s Office initiative to make local government more transparent and accessible, we invite you to get involved by viewing Commissioners Court meetings. You can check here to see the meeting schedule, and watch the official close captioned livestream here or on the Judge’s homepage here.

Harris County never stops preparing for the next big storm. And while the 2018 Harris County Flood Control District Bond Program is in full swing, we continue to seek input from community members as we implement projects in watersheds across the County. If you have a comment about a particular project, we invite you to attend the corresponding virtual meeting and be part of the planning process. Learn more about upcoming 2018 Bond Program Community Engagement Meetings here.

Do you have unwanted household hazardous items? Properly dispose of them by making an appointment with the Household Hazardous Waste Collections facility at 6900 Hahl Road in Houston. Learn what items are accepted and make an appointment here.