Primary Department: County Administration
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Diana Ramirez
Secondary Department: Choose an item.
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official:
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Policy
Project ID (if applicable): NA
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): NA
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): NA
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable): NA
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): NA
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 discussion and possible action related to a potential Harris County equity initiative.
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Background and Discussion:
During the November 12, 2024, meeting, Commissioners Court directed the Office of County Administration to develop answers to the following questions:
• What are Harris County’s data collection and reporting needs related to equity?
• What is the scope of Harris County’s equity gap with access and participation to county programming?
Commissioners Court requested that OCA submit the report on January 23, 2024. In the attached PowerPoint, OCA summarizes work done since receiving this directive and proposed next steps.
OCA recommends that Commissioners Court approve the following two motions related to this item, both of which focus on data collection for County program access and participation:
Motion to direct OCA to work with the County Attorney’s Office and other departments as needed to develop a countywide policy for the collection of data regarding participation in County programs, services, or other initiatives, which incorporates granular data and adheres to any applicable state and federal data collection requirements, by July 10, 2025.
Motion to direct departments that report to OCA to integrate the collection of participation data into County programs, services, or other initiatives, consistent with the countywide policy to be developed.
Note: The draft policy will be developed in collaboration with various data stakeholders to ensure that specific legal and policy requirements governing collection, storage, and use of specific datasets are respected. To maximize alignment, efforts will be made to determine whether justice system data standards and methodologies can be used as baseline requirements for all other datasets.
Expected Impact:
The proposed motions would create a more standardized approach to data collection that can provide more information regarding equity in County program access and participation and inform the process for considering and potentially launching an equity initiative.
Alternative Options:
Not moving forward with the recommended motions would hinder the County’s ability to collect and use better data related to equity issues in County program access, participation, and ultimately outcomes.
County Strategic Plan Goal: N/A
County Strategic Plan Objective: N/A
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): N/A
Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2): N/A
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): N/A
Health Initiative (Goal 4): N/A
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5): N/A
Housing Initiative (Goal 6): N/A
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan: This topic relates very closely to the Guiding Principle, “Prioritizing equity: We embrace the diversity of our community and integrate equity in all County work to reduce and prevent disparities.”
Prior Court Action (if any):
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Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
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11/12/2024 |
21 |
Commissioners Court directed the Office of County Administration to develop answers to the following questions: • What are Harris County’s data collection and reporting needs related to equity? • What is the scope of Harris County’s equity gap with access and participation to county programming? |
Location:
Address (if applicable):
Precinct(s): Countywide
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Anticipated Court Date: 1/23/2025
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): Click or tap to enter a date.
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or COVID-19 related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Arelia Johnson, Ph.D., Chief Equity Officer, Office of County Administration
Attachments (if applicable): Equity Initiative update (PowerPoint); for reference: Harris County Equity Guidelines and Harris County Race and Ethnicity Data Collection Practices Memo