Primary Department: County Administration
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Erica Lee Carter, County Administration
Secondary Department: N/A
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official:
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Grant - Amendment
Project ID (if applicable):
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): MacArthur Foundation
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable):
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable):
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable):
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): Choose an item. N/A
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request by the Office of County Administration for approval to accept an amendment to an agreement with the MacArthur Foundation to extend the grant end date to January 31, 2027, for the GY20 MacArthur Safety & Justice Challenge (Original Grant: G-1907-154130) and the Safety + Justice Challenge Sustainability Grant (G-1705-151953).
end
Background and Discussion:
In 2016, the County was selected as one of 11 jurisdictions across the United States to receive $2 million to implement strategies to improve the justice system. In 2019, we applied for a renewal grant and received $2.1 million to continue the SJC work and expand our strategy. Both the original and renewal grant periods expire on September 30, 2026. On August 16, 2026, the MacArthur Foundation approved a request for a no-cost extension to use unexpended grant funds from both grants to cover several SJC strategies, including the Racial and Ethnic Equity Committee work, the Community Assistance Resource Program, and jail population reduction.
Expected Impact:
The extension will provide the additional time needed to spend the remaining grant funds by completing initiatives that support the work of the Racial and Ethnic Equity (REE) Committee and by continuing mental health service interventions and non-appearance mitigation for individuals being released from jail.
Alternative Options:
Without approval of this no-cost extension, the grant will expire, and the remaining grant funds will not be available to support the final implementation strategies developed under the grant.
County Strategic Plan Goal: 1. Make Harris County safer and more just.
County Strategic Plan Objective: D: Reduce racial, ethnic, and economic disparities in the criminal legal system.
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): C3: Operationalize new and build upon successful pilot interventions targeted to reduce the jail population.
Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2): Choose an item.
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): Choose an item.
Health Initiative (Goal 4): Choose an item.
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5): Choose an item.
Housing Initiative (Goal 6): Choose an item.
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan:
Prior Court Action (if any):
|
Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
|
02/26/2026 |
112 |
Request by the Office of County Administration for approval to accept an amendment to an agreement with the MacArthur Foundation to extend the grant end date to September 30, 2026, for the Safety + Justice Challenge Sustainability Grant. |
|
12/11/2025 |
222 |
Request by the Office of County Administration for approval to accept an amendment to an agreement with the MacArthur Foundation to extend the grant end date to September 30, 2026, for the Safety + Justice Challenge Sustainability Grant Program. |
|
02/27/2025 |
71 |
Request by the Office of County Administration for approval to accept an amendment to an agreement with the MacArthur Foundation to extend the grant end date to February 28, 2026, for the Safety + Justice Challenge (SJC) Sustainability Grant Program. |
|
04/23/2024 |
463 |
Request by the Office of County Administration for approval to accept an amendment to an agreement with the MacArthur Foundation extending the grant end date to February 28, 2025, for the Safety + Justice Challenge Sustainability grant program. |
|
02/21/2023 |
253 |
Request by the Office of Justice and Safety for approval to accept an amendment to an agreement with the MacArthur Foundation to extend the grant end date to February 29, 2024, for the Safety + Justice Challenge Sustainability Grant Program. |
|
01/31/2023 |
258 |
Request by the Office of Justice and Safety for approval to accept an amendment to an agreement with the MacArthur Foundation to extend the grant end date to December 31, 2025, for the FY 2021-22 Safety + Justice Challenge Sustainability Grant. |
|
12/14/2021 |
196 |
Request by the Justice Administration Department for approval of an amendment to an agreement with the MacArthur Foundation to extend the grant end date to September 30, 2022, for the FY 2019 Safety + Justice Challenge Network project. |
|
04/27/2021 |
174 |
Request by Justice Administration for authorization to accept an amendment to an agreement with the MacArthur Foundation to extend the grant end date to October 31, 2021, for the FY 2019 Safety & Justice Challenge Network Program. |
|
03/30/2021 |
234 |
Request by the Justice Administration Department to accept an amendment with the MacArthur Foundation to extend the Safety + Justice Challenge grant through June 30, 2021. |
Location:
Address (if applicable):
Precinct(s): Countywide
|
Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
|
Service Name |
Safety and Justice Challenge |
|
|
|
Current Fiscal Year Cost |
Annual Fiscal Cost |
|
|
Labor |
Non-Labor |
Total |
Recurring Expenses |
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
Existing Budget |
|
|
|
|
|
Grant |
$ |
$47,000 |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Existing Budget |
$ |
$47,000 |
$ |
$ |
|
Additional Budget Request (Requires Fiscal Review Request Form) |
|
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Additional Budget Request |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Funding Sources |
$ |
$47,000.00 |
$ |
$ |
|
Grants - Proposed Budget (For Grants Items only) |
|
|
Labor |
Non-Labor |
Total |
No. of Grant Years |
|
Local Match Source - Existing Budget: Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
|
Local Match Source - Additional Budget Request: Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
|
Grant Funds Applied for/Awarded (Total) |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
|
Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new Position Control Numbers (PCN)s) |
|
|
Current Position Count for Service |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
Additional Positions Request |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
Total Personnel |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
County Attorney’s Office Legal Review (for Harris County Code Items only) |
|
CAO Reviewer Name and Title |
|
CAO Review Completion Date |
Click or tap to enter a date. |
Anticipated Court Date: 9/17/2026
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): Click or tap to enter a date.
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or ARPA related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Erica Lee Carter, County Administrator; Karen Evans, Justice Innovation Program Manager, Office of County Administration
Attachments (if applicable): Email approval of No-Cost Extension, No-Cost Extension Request Letter to MacArthur Foundation