Primary Department: Justices of the Peace
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Judge Steven Duble, Precinct 1, Place 2, and Judge Dolores Lozano, Justice of the Peace, Precinct 2, Place 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): GY24_EVICTION
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): The National Center for State Courts
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable):
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable):
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: Choose an item.
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): 0%
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): Choose an item. N/A
Award accepted prior to county indirect cost implementation
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request by Justices of the Peace 1-2 and 2-2 for approval to extend two grant funded positions to September 30, 2026 for the FY25 Eviction Diversion Initiative Program.
end
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 are no 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: 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:
Prior Court Action (if any):
|
Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
|
08.29.2023 |
23-4925 (275) |
CC Approved to accept FY23-24 Award |
|
07.10.2025 |
25-4091 (110) |
CC Approved to extend the grant end date to September 30, 2026 |
Location:
Address (if applicable):
Precinct(s): Countywide
|
Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
|
Service Name |
FY23-25_Eviction Diversion Initiative |
|
|
|
Current Fiscal Year Cost |
Annual Fiscal Cost |
|
Labor |
Non-Labor |
Total |
Recurring Expenses |
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
Existing Budget |
|
|
|
|
|
Grant |
$96,460 |
$ |
$96,460 |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Existing Budget |
$96,460.00 |
$ |
$96,460.00 |
$ |
|
Additional Budget Request (Requires Fiscal Review Request Form) |
|
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Additional Budget Request |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Funding Sources |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Grants – Proposed Budget (For Grants Items only) |
|
|
Labor |
Non-Labor |
Total |
No. of Grant Years |
|
Local Match Source - Existing Budget:
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
1 |
|
Local Match Source - Additional Budget Request:
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
|
|
|
Grant Funds Applied for/Awarded (Total) |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new PCNs) |
|
|
Current Position Count for Service |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
Additional Positions Request |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
Total Personnel |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Anticipated Court Date: 9/18/2025
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): 10/1/2025
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): Dept 312 & 322 3441 Form(s), Grant Amendment (07.10.2025 CC Approval)