Primary Department: Juvenile Probation
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Herny Gonzales, Executive Director
Secondary Department: Choose an item.
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official:
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Position
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Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
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Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A - Not a grant item
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
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Request for approval of a forensic psychologist position effective March 21, 2026.
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Background and Discussion:
The Juvenile Forensic Department respectfully requests approval for an additional psychologist position to support the growing demands of court-ordered psychological evaluations. This department is responsible for conducting comprehensive forensic assessments that directly inform judicial decision-making and case disposition. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in both the volume and complexity of forensic referrals, including cases involving serious offenses, co-occurring mental health concerns, and competency-related questions. These trends have placed substantial strain on existing staff and risk delays in completing evaluations within court-mandated timeframes. Adding an additional psychologist will help ensure timely, high-quality assessments, maintain compliance with statutory requirements, and uphold the department’s commitment to providing thorough and defensible forensic services to the court.
Expected Impact:
In addition to court-ordered forensic evaluations, it is a state requirement that youth must obtain a psychological evaluation prior to moving to any post-adjudicated facility. Delays in completing these evaluations result in youth remaining detained for longer periods of time and additional costs for the department. Additionally, without an additional psychologist, court-ordered evaluations will likely be delayed, increasing the risk of missed statutory deadlines and prolonged court processing. An added psychologist in the Forensic Department would allow 10- 20 additional psychological evaluations to be completed monthly.
Alternative Options:
Alternatively, vendors can be contracted to complete the forensic evaluations. However, this approach increases the time of coordination of services, requires training of more vendors, creates less uniformity of the reports, and the cost of each evaluation increases.
County Strategic Plan Goal: 1. Make Harris County safer and more just.
County Strategic Plan Objective: B: Reduce criminal legal system exposure that does not advance public safety.
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): E3: Decrease time to disposition by implementing case workflow improvements in line with recommendations from the National Center for State Courts.
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Economy Initiative (Goal 3): Choose an item.
Health Initiative (Goal 4): Choose an item.
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Housing Initiative (Goal 6): Choose an item.
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan:
Prior Court Action (if any):
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Location: 1200 Congress, Houston, Texas 77002
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Precinct(s): Countywide
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Anticipated Court Date: 3/19/2026
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): 3/21/2026
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or ARPA related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Fabiola Salas, Payroll Manager, Juvenile Probation
Attachments (if applicable):