Primary Department: Housing and Community Development
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Thao Costis
Secondary Department: County Administration
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official: Jesse Dickerman
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Financial Authorization
Project ID (if applicable): N/A
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): N/A
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 by Housing and Community Development for approval to allocate and authorize transfers of: $8,000,000 in FLEX Funds for the Community Resilience Rental Assistance and Eviction Defense Programs, and $8,000,000 in ARPA Interest Funds for Outreach and Rapid Re-housing Homeless Services, for a total allocation of $16,000,000.
end
Background and Discussion:
In June, Commissioners Court approved the Office of County Administration to close out the Community Prosperity Program and to reallocate remaining funds to Rental Assistance, Homelessness, and Food & Nutrition programs. Housing & Community Development staff have since coordinated with partners to design appropriate usage of the $16,000,000 allocated to Rental Assistance and Homeless Services. At the end of July, the Steering Committee approved usage of these funds for the following activities:
Community Resilience Scope: ($8M, FLEX Funds)
- HCD proposes a refresh of eviction prevention & rental assistance approach for 2 years that will involve an approach directly with residents in need, in the courts, and outreach with relevant stakeholders.
- HCD recommends building capacity to be agile for the next 2 years in FLEX funding to move quickly to assist those in stability emergencies while learning from what works to invest where it’s needed.
- Of this $8M budget, $7,500,000 will go towards a combination of eviction reduction legal defense services (contracted) and community resilience rental assistance program, and the remaining $500,000 will go to HCD for Stewardship & Performance and Finance staff to provide monitoring of these activities.
Homeless Services Scope ($8M, ARPA Interest):
- HCD seeks to begin an intensified Rapid Rehousing Ramp-up Plan for 2 years, in partnership with the Coalition for the Homeless (CFTH) and trusted service providers.
- CFTH will lead a collaborative effort between qualified, trusted providers to assess and triage homeless individuals, supporting quick exits from homelessness and supporting households for up to 12 months to regain stability through rental support and case management. This HCD-CFTH partnership will focus a majority of services on areas of Harris County outside of the City of Houston and utilize existing and recent observational data to inform outreach.
- Of this $8M budget, $7,500,000 will go towards the contract with CFTH and the remaining $500,000 will go to HCD for Stewardship & Performance and Finance staff to provide monitoring and coordination of these services.
Expected Impact:
$16M total from the reallocation previously approved by Commissioners Court (no additional funding): $8M, FLEX Funds and $8M in ARPA Interest funds.
Alternative Options:
Without an approval of these investments and continued services, Harris County would suffer from increased harm to homeless services and access as well as increased housing instability and residents at risk of homelessness for the coming years.
County Strategic Plan Goal: 6. Help residents achieve housing stability.
County Strategic Plan Objective: V: Reduce eviction and foreclosure rates among residents.
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: These investments contribute to multiple objectives under Goal #6, as this support those currently challenged by affordability, those already homeless and needing stability and housing support, and those imminently facing eviction.
Prior Court Action (if any):
|
Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
|
6/12/2025 |
13 |
Approval to close out the Community Prosperity Program (CPP), including all active contracts, and reallocate remaining funds to
Rental Assistance, Homelessness, and Food & Nutrition programs. |
Location:
Address (if applicable): N/A
Precinct(s): Countywide
|
Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
|
Service Name |
Community Resilience & Homeless Services |
|
|
|
Current Fiscal Year Cost |
Annual Fiscal Cost |
|
Labor |
Non-Labor |
Total |
Recurring Expenses |
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
Existing Budget |
|
|
|
|
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Existing Budget |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Additional Budget Request (Requires Fiscal Review Request Form) REALLOCATED ARPA $ |
|
|
1040 - FLEX Fund |
$500,000 |
$3,500,000 |
$4,000,000 |
$4,000,000 |
|
2651 - American Rescue Plan 2021 |
$500,000 |
$3,500,000 |
$4,000,000 |
$4,000,000 |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Additional Budget Request |
$1,000,000 |
$7,000,000 |
$8,000,000 |
$8,000,000 |
|
Total Funding Sources |
$1,000,000 |
$7,000,000 |
$8,000,000 |
$8,000,000 |
|
Grants – Proposed Budget (For Grants Items only) |
|
|
Labor |
Non-Labor |
Total |
No. of Grant Years |
|
Local Match Source - Existing Budget:
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
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Local Match Source - Additional Budget Request:
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
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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: 9/18/2025
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): 9/18/2025
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: ARPA related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Amanda Rocha, Director, Policy & Partnerships, Housing & Community Development
Attachments (if applicable): N/A