Harris County Commissioners Court voted Tuesday to move its Holistic Assistance Response Teams program in house, to be run by the county health department when its contract with an outside vendor ends early next year.
The move comes following scrutiny that began in May over the vendor, Disaster Emergency Medical Assistance Consulting and Management, which was accused of billing the county for the same hours it was working for a county in California. Harris County conducted its own audit, which did not find any issues with its billing.
Former Harris County Public Health Barbie Robinson previously worked with DEMA during her tenure in Sonoma County, California. A Houston Chronicle investigation in August found Robinson communicated with the company’s CEO, Michelle Patino, during the contracting process. County Administrator Diana Ramirez then fired Robinson, who now is facing a third-degree felony charge of misuse of information in connection with a separate program.
Commissioners voted 3-1 to take over program operations, with Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey, the lone Republican on court, dissenting.
Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones said she is “very supportive” of moving HART in house.
“I’m so thankful that we will be saving and strengthening HART,” she said. “It’s powerful to link folks to services, but also keeping folks who don’t need to be in the justice system out of the justice system.”
Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia echoed his colleague.
“HART serves an essential purpose in Harris County and our communities and I’m glad to see a proposal that brings this program in house to ensure its longevity and stability,” Garcia said.
The county’s Holistic Assistance Response Team was created in 2022 as an alternative to police for 911 calls involving residents experiencing non-emergency mental and behavioral health or homelessness issues. The team has responded to more than 15,000 calls that normally would have been directed to law enforcement, fire or emergency medical services, according to the county public health department. There also have been nearly 900 “linkages” to social services that benefited community members, the department said in its transition plan.
Commissioners Court previously directed the Office of County Administration and Harris County Public Health to pursue two options regarding HART: the first one being a proposal to bring it in house and the other to issue a request for proposals seeking out alternative vendors.
While assessing the program, the health department has created a plan to put HART fully under county control while operating at a limited capacity throughout the first quarter of 2025, with a goal of being fully operational by the end of the year. Districts 1 and 4 would be the priority in the transition and then it would expand into District 2, according to the plan.
“This approach would bypass the need for a temporary transition to a new third-party vendor, instead allowing HCPH to directly oversee program operations in the immediate future,” the proposal said. “Direct oversight would enable clearer accountability and enhance collaboration with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO), EMS agencies, other HCPH divisions, and community partners.”
The revamped structure will begin at the end of January when DEMA’s contract expires with the county. The program, which costs $6.6 million per year, will operate between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., when the volume of calls is at its highest.
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