Department: District Courts
Department Head/Elected Official: Richard Woods, District Courts Administrator
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Grant
Project ID (if applicable):
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): Harris County District Courts
MWDBE Contracted Goal (if applicable):
MWDBE Current Participation (if applicable):
Justification for 0% MWDBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request by the District Courts for approval to submit an application to the U.S. Department of Justice for grant funds in the amount of $750,000, with an in-kind match of $250,000, for the FY 2024 CPS Prevention and Rehabilitation Court Program.
end
Background and Discussion:
With this solicitation, the OJJDP division of the US Department of Justice seeks to build the capacity of state courts, local courts, units of local government, and federally recognized Tribal governments to establish new family treatment courts, enhance existing family treatment courts, or expand family treatment courts at the larger state and county levels. This program furthers the goal to expand access to evidence-based prevention and treatment by supporting states and communities as they develop and implement effective and coordinated substance use intervention programs.
The grant funding will be used to support the Child Protective Services Prevention and Rehabilitation Court (hereby known as CPRC). This program is designed to serve parents and families involved in the child welfare system due to substance abuse as a contributing factor to child abuse and/or neglect. Additionally, the program is designed to serve youth that are in the conservatorship of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (hereby known as TDFPS) and are using substances. The goal of the program is to serve up to 15 families and 25 delinquent youth. When CRPC was created in February of 2024, there was no operational specialty court in Harris County serving children or youth in the conservatorship of Texas Department of FPS or parent and families with Participation in Services (PIS) status identified as having drug and alcohol use or dependency. As a result, identifying and implementing interventions for these participants will reduce downstream demands, prevention into the juvenile justice system, and recidivism.
Expected Impact:
Grant funding would allow DCA to hire a full-time program coordinator, and to pay for drug testing, substance abuse and mental health counseling, and to purchase needed technology (desktop computer, laptop, monitor, keyboard, printer and cell phone).
Utilizing integrated substance abuse treatment services and a comprehensive case management approach involving court appointed special advocates, case managers and a multidisciplinary team of professionals, the CPRC will provide children, youth and families intensive services and interventions which would otherwise not be received. The CPRC will assist in the rehabilitation of individuals with substance use disorders in the processing of cases and proceedings under Title 3 and Title 5 of the Texas Family Code. Following the National Association of Drug Court Professionals model, the CPRC allows for monitoring of abstinence through periodic screening for alcohol and/or controlled substances, and the development of partnerships with public agencies and community organizations for ongoing judicial interaction with program participants. This program will protect child safety, provide permanency solutions and reduce further penetration into the child welfare and criminal justice systems.
Alternative Options:
The youth and some families who meet the CPRC target population criteria would not receive the additional counseling and drug testing, nor funding for transportation to services, and CPRC would have to continue operations without a full-time program coordinator.
Alignment with Goal(s):
X Justice and Safety
_ Economic Opportunity
_ Housing
_ Public Health
_ Transportation
_ Flooding
_ Environment
_ Governance and Customer Service
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):
Precinct(s): Choose an item.
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Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
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Service Name |
Child Protective Services Prevention and Rehabilitation Court (CPRC) |
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|
Grant 10/24 - 9/28 |
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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|
|
|
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Current Budget |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Additional Budget Request (Requires Fiscal Review Request Form) |
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|
Grant |
$655,567 |
$94,433 |
$750,000 |
$ |
|
Other (In-kind match) |
$ |
$250,000 |
$250,000 |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Additional Budget Request |
$655,567 |
$344,433 |
$1,000,000 |
$ |
|
Total Funding Request |
$655,567 |
$344,433 |
$1,000,000 |
$ |
|
Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new PCNs) |
|
|
Current Position Count for Service |
0 |
- |
- |
- |
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Additional Positions Request |
1 |
- |
- |
- |
|
Total Personnel |
1 |
- |
- |
- |
Anticipated Court Date: June 4, 2024
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): September 1, 2024
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or COVID-19 related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Richard Woods, Court Administrator, District Courts
Attachments (if applicable):
§ Grant Documents