Department: Purchasing
Department Head/Elected Official: DeWight Dopslauf
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Contract - Amendment
Project ID (if applicable): N/A
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): National Center for State Courts
MWDBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWDBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWDBE Participation Goal: 0% - Non-Divisible
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request that the County Judge execute an amendment to a consulting services exemption agreement with National Center for State Courts to decrease the amount by $41,977 to extend the term of the Master Agreement, modify the scale of services, and reduce funding for the Office of Management and Budget for the extended period of February 29, 2024 - May 31, 2024, Justification for 0% MWDBE Participation Goal: 0% - NonDivisible.
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Background and Discussion:
Courts in Harris County are facing large workloads resulting from a backlog of cases due the combination of Hurricane Harvey and the pandemic. During the past budget season the Courts made requests for additional resources based on the growing volume of work. Additionally, the Office of Court Management specifically requested that a workload assessment be conducted to understand appropriate staffing levels for their courts.
To that end, the Office of County Administrator inquired about consulting services from the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) to train, review, evaluate, and make recommendations regarding caseflow management practices and evaluate the judicial resources needed to accomplish the workload. This includes assistance in addressing case backlogs, impacts on case volumes and related impacts on overall caseflow management in the areas of effective calendaring, jail overcrowding, and managing caseload volumes as the courts emerge from pandemic influences. The impacts on the number of pending criminal cases have been exacerbated by th...
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