Primary Department: Public Health Services
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Leah Barton ─ Executive Director
Secondary Department: N/A
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official:
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Memorandum of Understanding
Project ID (if applicable): N/A
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): Department of Homeland Security
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A - Not a grant item
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request for approval of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Homeland Security for Harris County Public Health to enroll in the federal E-Verify program and establish its own system identifier for employment eligibility verification.
end
Background and Discussion:
E-Verify is a federal web-based system administered by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA). It allows enrolled employers to confirm the eligibility of their employees to work in the United States. As part of Harris County’s compliance with federal employment eligibility verification laws, each department is required to process its own E-Verify cases for new hires under its assigned identifier. Currently, Public Health does not have direct access to the E-Verify system and must coordinate with other departments to complete required verifications. This creates inefficiencies and increases the risk of noncompliance with federal timelines. Approval of this RCA will allow Public Health to directly enroll in E-Verify, establish its own program administrator account, and independently manage new hire verification requirements.
Expected Impact:
Approval of this request will ensure that Public Health remains in compliance with federal employment eligibility verification requirements. By obtaining its own E-Verify access, the department will reduce delays in onboarding new employees by eliminating the need to coordinate with other County departments for verification. It will also improve accountability and recordkeeping by allowing Public Health Services to manage its own E-Verify cases directly. Finally, the program does not create any additional costs to the County, as E-Verify is provided free of charge by the federal government and will be administered by existing staff.
Alternative Options:
Continue to rely on other County departments for E-Verify processing, which is inefficient and increases compliance risks
County Strategic Plan Goal: 1. Make Harris County safer and more just.
County Strategic Plan Objective:
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1):
Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2):
Economy Initiative (Goal 3):
Health Initiative (Goal 4):
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5):
Housing Initiative (Goal 6):
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan:
Prior Court Action (if any):
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Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
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N/A |
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Location:
Address (if applicable): N/A
Precinct(s): Countywide
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Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
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Service Name |
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Current Fiscal Year Cost |
Annual Fiscal Cost |
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Labor |
Non-Labor |
Total |
Recurring Expenses |
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Funding Sources |
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Existing Budget |
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|
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$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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|
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Total Existing Budget |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Additional Budget Request (Requires Fiscal Review Request Form) |
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|
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$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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|
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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|
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Total Additional Budget Request |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Total Funding Sources |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Grants – Proposed Budget (To be filled out by Grants staff only) |
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Labor |
Non-Labor |
Total |
No. of Grant Years |
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Local Match Source - Existing Budget:
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$ |
$ |
$ |
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Local Match Source - Additional Budget Request:
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$ |
$ |
$ |
|
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Grant Funds Applied for/Awarded (Total) |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Personnel(Fill out section only if requesting new PCNs) |
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Current Position Count for Service |
- |
- |
- |
- |
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Additional Positions Request |
- |
- |
- |
- |
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Total Personnel |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Anticipated Court Date: September 18, 2025
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): September 18, 2025
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or ARPA related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: James Dinkins, Chief People Officer, Public Health Services
Attachments (if applicable): E-Verify Memorandum of Understanding