The Little Composter Who Inspired Big Change 11/24/2025 A family visiting our North Channel Library compost drop-off inspired their local Lowe’s to donate buckets after hearing their son’s passion for composting. This simple interaction expanded community participation and support for the program. It’s a reminder of how small actions can lead to meaningful impact. Read More Sustainability
Dashboards 101 07/08/2025 In Harris County, dashboards are used to support transparency and decision-making, with public dashboards covering topics like jail population, air quality, and ARPA spending. Whether for internal analysis or public engagement, dashboards turn complex data into accessible insights. Read More Research And Analysis
Language Access Team Attends 2025 Welcoming Interactive in Detroit 06/16/2025 The Office of County Administration’s (OCA) Language Access Team recently attended the 2025 Welcoming Interactive conference in Detroit, Michigan, hosted by Welcoming America. This biennial event brought together experts nationwide to share practices and policies supporting immigrant inclusion. Read More Research And Analysis
Bike to Work Day 2025 05/20/2025 Harris County employees from multiple departments met for a group ride in Downtown Houston to celebrate Bike to Work Day. Around 20 county employees participated in connecting and promoting sustainable commuting. Read More Sustainability
Celebrating Earth Week 2025 05/07/2025 We had an amazing time celebrating Earth Week 2025 with all of you! From food waste tips to green building tours, each event brought fresh ideas for sustainably living. Thanks for joining us—and don’t forget to check out the resources to keep the momentum going! Read More Medianews
Assessment of Veterinary Public Health Structures and Potential Program Expansion 03/31/2025 Harris County's Veterinary Public Health (VPH) Division has made progress on recommendations from an October Research and Analysis Division (RAD) report. The report focused on increased collaboration, spay-and-neuter efforts, and adopting the Socially Conscious Animal Sheltering philosophy to improve shelter space and animal outcomes. The assessment highlights challenges like staffing shortages and stray population growth, suggesting increased coordination with nonprofits, policy adjustments, and innovative programs to enhance animal welfare services. Read More Research And Analysis
RAD Year in Review - 2024 02/20/2025 In 2024, the Research and Analysis Division (RAD) supported Harris County by delivering research, data analysis, and policy reports aligned with the County’s Strategic Plan. Key initiatives included enhancing public services, improving data transparency, and advancing language access for non-English speakers. RAD also launched new tools and programs to strengthen data-informed decision-making and community engagement. Read More Research And Analysis
The Language Access team from the Research and Analysis Division recently attended the National Immigrant Inclusion Conference 01/13/2025 The Language Access Team from RAD attended the National Immigrant Inclusion Conference (NIIC) to enhance their efforts in developing equitable language access strategies. Insights gained from the conference will support the implementation of a comprehensive Language Access Plan, ensuring all residents, regardless of language or nativity, have meaningful access to essential services. Read More Research And Analysis
Voter Registration and Participation in Harris County 12/19/2024 In August 2024, the Harris County Commissioners Court approved a motion to enhance voter registration and participation efforts. The focus remains on improving voter turnout in future elections. Read More Research And Analysis
The OCA Sustainability Division hosted six County-Wide Climate Justice Community Workshops 11/04/2024 In August and September, the staff of OCA’s Sustainability Division hosted six Climate Justice Community Meetings throughout Harris County. Read More Sustainability
Detention Officer Study 09/23/2024 In Fiscal Year 2024, the Harris County Commissioners Court approved over $6.3 million to cover a 12% pay increase for detention officers to help encourage recruitment and retention. Learn more about detention officer hiring and retaining challenges and strategies. Read More Research And Analysis
Unveiling Disparities: COVID-19 Hospitalizations in the Hispanic/Latino Community 08/12/2024 The Research and Analysis Division published a memo on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Hispanic/Latino Community in Harris County, Texas, and the US. Certain social determinants of health-related to employment and lack of health insurance coverage, as well as the presence of pre-existing conditions, made the Hispanic/Latino community susceptible to worse COVID-19 outcomes. Read More Research And Analysis
The OCA Research and Analysis Division went to Washington DC for the 2024 NACo Legislative Conference 03/05/2024 In February, staff from the OCA Research and Analysis Division traveled to Washington, DC, to attend the 2024 National Association of Counties (NACo) Legislative Conference. Read on to learn about sessions that RAD staff attended at the 2024 NACo Legislative Conference! Read More Research And Analysis
RAD - Year in Review 02/09/2024 The Commissioner Court’s Analyst’s Office and the Office of Justice and Safety welcome 2024 as the Research and Analysis Division (RAD) under the Office of County Administration! Read More Research And Analysis
Boards and Commissions - What Are They and How to Apply 12/06/2023 The Office of Boards and Commissions manages over 70 public advisory boards and commissions, offering residents volunteer opportunities to contribute to local governance through various appointments. Read More Research And Analysis
Harris County’s Use of Hotel Occupancy Tax Fund Revenue 09/27/2023 This blog explains how Harris County may spend hotel occupancy taxes on eligible events and venues. Read More Research And Analysis
Youth Firearm Violence in Harris County 07/07/2023 This blog provides information on firearm related deaths and offenses of youth in Harris County. Read More Blog
Access to Family Planning Services in Harris County 05/19/2023 This blog provides information on affordable and no-cost family planning services offered to Harris County residents by Harris County clinics as well as other publicly funded clinics. Read More Blog
Sexual Assault Awareness Month 04/20/2023 This April will mark the 21st Anniversary of Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM). The goal of the month is two-fold: awareness of and prevention of sexual assault. Read More Blog
Analyst’s Office: A Year in Review, 2022 03/10/2023 This post reflects on the policy reports, technical assistance work, and achievements within the Analyst's Office in 2022. The Analyst’s Office’s first annual satisfaction survey showed that 85% of our technical assistance partners reported a positive experience working with the Analyst’s Office team. Looking forward to 2023! Read More Blog
OJS says farewell to Interim Director, Dr. Ana Yáñez-Correa 01/09/2023 OJS bids farewell to its Interim Director, Dr. Ana Yáñez-Correa, sneak preview of the legislative session, and Harris County is used as a webinar model when it comes to reinvesting in youth. Read More Medianews
Review of Emergency Services Districts (ESDs) in Harris County 12/02/2022 This blog provides background information on emergency services districts (ESDs) and compares the 2021 adopted annual budget per capita for 30 Harris County ESDs. Read More Blog
The Cost Estimates of Harris County Services for an Individual Experiencing Homelessness from FY2019 to FY2021 11/18/2022 This blog provides cost estimates of county services for an individual experiencing homelessness in Harris County from FY2019-FY2021. Read More Blog
Harris County's Adherence to the Texas Prompt Payment Act 09/27/2022 This blog provides background information on the Texas Prompt Payment Act and examines Harris County's payment processing times to vendors from FY2017-FY2022. Read More Blog
Federal Pandemic-Related Funding to Independent School Districts in Harris County 08/29/2022 This blog summarizes the types and amounts of pandemic-related funding received by school districts in Harris County. Read More Blog
The Impact of Fraudulent Temporary Tags to Harris County 07/27/2022 This post explores the effect of fraudulent temporary tags on incidents of crime and potential lost revenue for Harris County. Read More Blog
April is Autism Awareness Month 04/20/2022 On November 21, 2021, a 19-year-old man detained locally in Harris County, Texas, died from injuries sustained by another inmate. The teen was only half the size of his alleged attacker and was diagnosed with special needs. Read More Blog
Storm Surge Mitigation Efforts for Galveston Bay 02/10/2022 This blog highlights two storm surge projects under consideration for Galveston Bay (the Galveston Bay Park Plan and the Texas Coastal Study) and describes how hurricane frequency and storm surge impact Harris County. Read More Blog
Analyst’s Office: A Year In Review, 2021 01/31/2022 This post reflects on activity and achievements within the Analyst's Office in the past year. From new team members to exceeding our project completion target by 60 percent—we were busy in 2021. Read More Blog
Overview of Harris County's Sustainability Practices 01/17/2022 This blog highlights existing sustainability practices and policies in place within Harris County departments. Read More Blog
Highlights from JAD’s New Index-Crime Dashboard 01/13/2022 The Justice Administration Department (JAD) strives to be a resource to the public by providing timely and relevant information. Increasing public safety and reducing violent crime is front and center to everything we do. To that end, JAD recently launched a new dashboard showing Index-Crime Rate statistics in Harris County. Read More Blog
Harris County Vaccine Distribution April 2021 - December 2021 12/27/2021 This post includes data on vaccination rates by zip code, including social vulnerability scores, death counts, and median income for each zip code from April 2021 through December 2021. Read More Blog
Increasing Jury Duty Appearance and Response Rates 11/22/2021 Jury service is an integral component of the United States’ legal system. In Texas, juror selection occurs in counties by selecting names from a randomized list of residents (compiled by the Texas Secretary of State) who are registered to vote or hold a driver’s license or Texas identification card. This post highlights strategies that helped increase juror appearance rates, reviews the impact of pay increases in other jurisdictions, and examines whether an increase in pay in other jurisdictions resulted in greater turnout and/or greater diversity of juror participation. Read More Blog
Investing in Immigrant Survivors as Change Agents 11/03/2021 As part of the Safety and Justice Challenge, JAD is partnered with three organizations in Harris County to reduce racial and ethnic disparities within the criminal justice system. Read More Blog
County Comparison of Spending on Social Services, Public Safety, and County Services 10/25/2021 This post explores spending on public safety, social services, and county services across ten jurisdiction over a nine year period. Read More Blog
JAD Director Retiring and Interim Director Announced 10/05/2021 The Harris County Justice Administration Department says goodbye to its original Director and welcomes, new Interim Director. Read More Medianews
Harris County Death Count 07/09/2021 This post includes data on the total annual deaths in Harris County, including the City of Houston, from January 2010 through December 2020 by age, and race and ethnicity. Read More Blog