Primary Department: County Administration
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Erica Lee Carter, County Administrator
Secondary Department: Choose an item.
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official:
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Transmittal
Project ID (if applicable): N/A
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): American Institutes for Research (AIR)
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
Transmittal by the Office of County Administration of “Changes in Pretrial Outcomes Under Reform and Pandemic Conditions in Harris County, 2015-2024” evaluation of reentry outcomes in Harris County.
end
Background and Discussion:
On September 13, 2022, Commissioners Court authorized evaluation consulting services as a subaward of the agreement with American Institutes for Research (AIR) under Job No. 210317 to evaluate reentry outcomes in Harris County.
Harris County’s misdemeanor pretrial and jail systems experienced substantial changes over the past decade driven by legal reform, policy shifts, and external disruption. This report examines whether and when adverse outcomes occur following release. It also analyzes three outcomes central to County decision-making and reentry success: the time to a new arrest or failure to appear, the time to a new arrest alone, and the time to a return to jail.
The report identified the following:
• Risk of new arrests, failures to appear, and return to jail is highest immediately after release and declines as time passes.
• Release conditions and bond or release types are strongly associated with how quickly outcomes occur, suggesting that system decisions shape not just whether people return to the justice system, but how quickly they do so.
• Findings indicate that the large-scale shift toward faster and more frequent non-financial release following ODonnell occurred without a systemwide deterioration in post-release outcomes.
• Results indicate that differences in the timing of post-release failure, rather than differences in overall failure rates, are central for policy design.
Expected Impact:
Distribution of this evaluation to community partners and residents enhances transparency and can inform potential future reentry services.
Alternative Options:
n/a
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): 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 |
|
07/15/2024 |
6 |
Approval of a data use agreement with The American Institutes for Research for evaluation consulting services. |
|
09/13/2022 |
12 |
Approval of contract agreement with American Institutes for Research under Job No. 210317. |
|
03/22/2022 |
212 |
Approval of contract awards for applied research and data analysis, strategic planning and management strategies, and other services. |
Location:
Address (if applicable):
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 |
|
|
|
|
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Existing Budget |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
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. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
|
Local Match Source - Additional Budget Request: Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
|
Grant Funds Applied for/Awarded (Total) |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
|
Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new Position Control Numbers (PCN)s) |
|
|
Current Position Count for Service |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
Additional Positions Request |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
Total Personnel |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
County Attorney’s Office Legal Review (for Harris County Code Items only) |
|
CAO Reviewer Name and Title |
|
CAO Review Completion Date |
Click or tap to enter a date. |
Anticipated Court Date: 6/11/2026
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): Click or tap to enter a date.
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: ARPA related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Romeo Solis, Director ARPA PMO, Office of County Administration; Xavier Perry, Justice & Safety Manager, ARPA PMO, Office of County Administration
Attachments (if applicable): “Changes in Pretrial Outcomes Under Reform and Pandemic Conditions in Harris County, 2015-2024”