Primary Department: Justices of the Peace
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Judge Steven Duble, Precinct 1, Place 2, Dolores Lozano, Justice of the Peace Precinct 2-2
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): National Center for State Courts
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): 0%
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): Choose an item. -one year award extension
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request by Justices of the Peace 1-2 and 2-2 for approval to accept an amendment to an agreement with the National Center for State Courts to extend the grant end date to September 30, 2026 and modify the award by $96,460, for the FY25 Eviction Diversion Initiative Program.
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Background and Discussion:
This is a one-year extension of a grant previously awarded and accepted by JP 1-2 and JP 2-2 as part of a national program funded by the National Center for State Courts (NCSC). The initial grant was awarded in 2023 for $295,380. The additional grant will fund half the salary of an Eviction Diversion Facilitator in JP 1-2 and JP 2-2 for one more year. The grant will also provide ongoing technical assistance to update eviction court procedures to emphasize holistic, sustainable, and community driven resolutions to housing problems. Each court will enhance an existing eviction diversion program with an emphasis on using court processes to connect litigants with the time, information, and community resources necessary to resolve their housing disputes in a less harmful manner.
Expected Impact:
The impact of the Eviction Diversion Initiative includes preventing avoidable evictions, addressing barriers faced by litigants through the redesign and simplifying of court processes to be more responsive to community needs, improving collaboration with legal aid agencies, mediation programs, and community-based partners to expand access and facilitate connections to legal and non-legal resources that can further stabilize litigants, and strengthening data collection efforts to better understand the demographics and circumstances of court users and the impact and outcomes of the eviction diversion program.
Alternative Options:
There were not alternative options identified. Declining this award would prevent these two Justice Courts from participating in the NCSC Eviction Diversion Initiative
County Strategic Plan Goal: 1. Make Harris County safer and more just.
County Strategic Plan Objective: F: Ensure safety and security for all using the county’s transportation network in alignment with the County’s Vision Zero plan.
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): Choose an item.
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):
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Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
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8/29/23 |
23-4925 (275) |
Approval to Accept FY23 Award |
Location:
Address (if applicable): 1302 Preston Street, Houston, TX 77002; 101 S. Richey Street, Pasadena, TX 77506
Precinct(s): Countywide
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Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
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Service Name |
FY25 Eviction Diversion Initiative Program |
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Additional Budget Request (Requires Fiscal Review Request Form) |
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Local Match Source - Existing Budget: 1000 - General Fund |
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Grant Funds Applied for/Awarded (Total) |
$94,460 |
$2,000 |
$96,460 |
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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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Anticipated Court Date: 7/10/2025
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: Judge Steven Duble, Justice of the Peace, Precinct 1-2, Judge Dolores
Lozano, Justice of the Peace, Precinct 2-2
Attachments (if applicable): Grant Agreement Packet from Harris County Attorney’s Office