Department: District Courts
Department Head/Elected Official: Richard Woods
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Supplemental RCA
Type of Request: Grant
Project ID (if applicable): ARPA_AJS
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): N/A
MWDBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWDBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
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 carryforward into FY25, $1,380,163 in unspent FY24 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Local Fiscal Recovery Funds needed to continue backlog initiatives, including 1 Application Developer, 1 part-time staff attorney, 4 case management analysts, 2 court reporters, and 2 court coordinators, effective October 1, 2024.
end
Background and Discussion:
In January 2022, the Harris County District Criminal Courts established the two-year Associate Judge (AJ) program and Emergency Relief Trial Dockets (ERTD), to address the case backlog caused by displacement from the courthouse following Hurricane Harvey and the COVID-19 pandemic. On August 16, 2024, the ARPA Steering Committee approved $1,380,163 in rollover funding for 10 more positions through FY25.
Expected Impact:
This funding will allow for the retention of 4 case management analysts (CMAs) who will assist the AJ program by:
(1) identifying people in custody with State Jail felonies, and low-level non-violent offenses that have been in custody for longer than 90 days;
(2) notifying Courts of cases identified for placement on the weekly docket;
(3) notifying qualifying parties their case is on docket to be resolved; and
(4) assisting with tracking stats on the AJP. CMAs will also assist with quality assurance protocols for indigent defense appointments by reviewing vouchers and jail logs.
Additionally, CMAs will assist with mental health court (MHC) by tracking the following:
(1) wait times in the jail and housing placement to make sure they are available for their evaluation;
(2) 16.22 reports and outside reports; and
(3) expenses incurred from outside doctors who complete competency and sanity evaluations.
Next, this funding will allow for the hire of an application developer who will be responsible for the following:
(1) This intermediate level programmer position will provide computer programming, reporting and database management support. The position is responsible for extending the use of Microsoft based solutions, and for ongoing support and enhancement of applications to support court administration.
(2) Provide increased resilience to support and extend the application and reporting portfolio and allow for the development of more customizable reports and sophisticated data analytics.
(3) Develop new and enhance existing case management dashboards.
(4) Implement system for tracking continuances and inactive cases.
(5) Conduct frequency analysis of code usage to understand the issue of multiple setting codes.
(6) Develop a standardized list of setting reasons and codes for all judges and staff to consider using.
(7) Work with court administration and DCO to develop a plan to streamline the number of standard operating procedures (SOPs) required for court clerks.
Thirdly, this funding will allow for the hire of a part-time staff attorney who will be responsible for updating the jury charge bank in order to maintain health and factual accuracy (i.e., legislative updates and creates new jury instructions for new offenses) of the jury charge bank.
Lastly, this funding will allow for the hiring of 2 court reporters and 2 court coordinators responsible for staffing three ERTDs.
Alternative Options:
N/A
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):
|
Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
|
10/12/2021 |
18 |
Request for discussion and possible action on the criminal case backlog including 1) update on the status of initiatives to reduce the backlog; 2) request to provide $657,465 in ARPA funding for 31 temporary positions to process evidence at the DA as well as 3 programmer positions effective October 23, 2021, while they finalize the technology improvements needed to create a permanent solution; 3) request to approve $1,637,519 in ARPA funding and positions for Associate Judges for the District Criminal Courts effective January 7, 2022. |
|
02/22/2022 |
22 |
Approval to fund court backlog initiatives through SFY 22 and relocation of Jury Operations to the Family Law Center |
|
05/10/2022 |
175 |
Approval of District Courts Case Management Coordinator positions |
|
09/13/2022 |
13 |
Approval of FY2023 Court Backlog funding |
|
02/21/2023 |
223 |
Approval to supplement FY2023 Court Backlog funding for District Courts |
|
06/06/2023 |
363 |
Approval of FY2024 Court Backlog funding |
|
08/06/2024 |
324 |
Approval of $2,131,484 in Court Backlog funding |
Location:
Address (if applicable): 1201 Franklin, 7th Floor, Houston, TX 77002
Precinct(s): Countywide
|
Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
|
Service Name |
|
|
|
|
Current Fiscal Year Cost |
Annual Fiscal Cost |
|
|
Labor |
Non-Labor |
Total |
Recurring Expenses |
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
Existing Budget |
|
|
FY24 portion |
FY25 portion |
|
Grant |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Current Budget |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Additional Budget Request (Requires Fiscal Review Request Form) |
|
|
2651 - American Rescue Plan 2021 |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$1,380,163 |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Additional Budget Request |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$1,380,163 |
|
Total Funding Request |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$1,380,163 |
|
Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new PCNs) |
|
|
Current Position Count for Service |
- |
- |
4 |
4 |
|
Additional Positions Request |
- |
- |
6 |
6 |
|
Total Personnel |
- |
- |
10 |
10 |
Anticipated Court Date: August 27, 2024
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): October 1, 2024
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: COVID-19 related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Richard Woods, Court Administrator, District Courts
Attachments (if applicable):