County Administrator Carter on air with KPFT 03/18/2026 Harris County Administrator Erica Lee Carter sat down with THNX radio host, Rand Mintzer w/ KPFT to talk about her life journey, leadership, and her new role as County Administrator. Listen here for a powerful conversation on service & impact in our community. Read More Podcast
Former U.S. Rep. Erica Lee Carter to serve as Harris County Administrator 02/13/2026 Effective March 9, former U.S. Rep. Erica Lee Carter will serve as the new Harris County administrator after commissioners unanimously approved her appointment Feb. 12.She will be the first African American woman to hold the position, which was created in 2021. Read More News
Harris County commissioners appoint Erica Lee Carter as new county administrator 02/13/2026 Erica Lee Carter, the daughter of the late Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, was selected by commissioners on Thursday to serve as the next Harris County Administrator.The position is charged with leading the Office of County Administration, which has overseen the day-to-day operations and long-term strategic plans of the county’s largest departments since its establishment in 2021. Read More News
Harris County Language Access Maps 08/11/2025 Did you know Spanish, Vietnamese & Chinese are the top 3 languages spoken by LEP (Limited English Proficient) residents in Harris County? Explore the dashboard by our Language Access Team & check out the policy note to learn more! Read More Reports
ARPA 2025 Recovery Fund 07/31/2025 Harris County’s 2025 Recovery Plan Report is live! See how $915M in ARPA funds are boosting health, housing, child care, and small businesses. harriscountyarpa.org Read More Reports
Harris County has a new Climate Justice Plan. What is it all about? 04/23/2025 After two years of planning and community meetings, Harris County commissioners voted to adopt a first-of-its-kind Climate Justice Plan earlier this month. The document targets everything from grid and flood resilience to clean air and water, topics that leaders and residents agreed could improve local quality of life. The process was led by the county’s Office of Sustainability in partnership with the Houston-based environmental nonprofit CEER, which stands for the Coalition for Environment, Equity, and Resilience. Read More News
'Prayers for Robo': Volunteers work to revive child's toy dinosaur at library repair event 03/08/2025 At a Harris County Repair Café, volunteers rallied to save a child’s beloved toy dinosaur, “Robo.” While not every fix is guaranteed, these free events are about learning, community, and giving broken items a second chance. Sometimes the real repair is hope. Read More News
Harris County's 'Repair Cafés' offer second life to broken items 03/08/2025 Harris County’s Repair Café is helping keep stuff out of the landfill! Residents brought in broken appliances, toys, fans, lamps, clothing, and more to have them repaired by volunteers. It’s all about learning repair skills, saving money, and building community. More dates are planned throughout 2025! Read More News
Discover the Impact of Harris County Veterans Services Department 11/22/2024 With the largest veteran population in Texas, Harris County is proud to support those who have served our country. The Harris County Veterans Services Department is here to ensure they get the help and resources they need.The department helps veterans and their families navigate benefits, rehabilitation services, and career opportunities. And what makes it even more impactful is that many of the staff are veterans themselves, offering support that’s both professional and personal. Read More Video
Celebrating Women's History Month 03/19/2024 Join us as the Office of Harris County Administration celebrates Women's History Month by highlighting the remarkable endeavors within our community aimed at empowering women. Guests include Ellen Cohen, Chair of the Harris County Women's Commission, Santrice Jones, Director of Early Childhood Initiatives with the Department of Economic Equity and Opportunity, and Sergeant Melissa Barajas from the Women's Empowerment Center at the Harris County Sheriff's Office @HarriscountysoOrg . Tune in for an insightful discussion on fostering empowerment and equality for women in Harris County. Read More Video
Harris County Celebrates Milestones in Inaugural Climate Action Plan Implementation Report 01/31/2024 HOUSTON (CW39) – Reporting on a year of progress, Harris County unveils the significant achievements of its Climate Action Plan for Internal Operations (CAP) implementation for the inaugural year, marking strides toward sustainable and environmentally responsible practices. Read More News
First Annual Report on the Harris County Climate Action Plan for Internal Operations 01/30/2024 In January 2023, the Commissioners Court adopted its first Climate Action Plan (CAP) for Internal Operations, targeting a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. The plan focused on cutting emissions, lowering expenses, and boosting resilience across Buildings & Energy, Clean Fleet & Commuting, and Sustainable Procurement & Waste Management.While 2023 served as a starting point in operationalizing this plan, there are some key highlights in this report to showcase early successes in the CAP implementation phase. Read More Reports
Youth Diversion Center Ribbon Cutting 05/25/2023 The Harris Center has posted a video of the ribbon cutting. Please check it out. Read More Video
Harris County Youth Diversion Center aimed to help youth in crisis celebrates its grand opening 05/25/2023 (Harris County, TX) – May 25, 2023 — The Harris County YouthDiversion Center held their grand opening on May 15, 2023. Read More
Dr. Michael Eric Dyson on race in Harris County criminal justice 05/08/2023 The county is bringing law enforcement, attorneys, and other stakeholders together to discuss how to address racial disparities in the system for a conference headlined by the author and activist. Read More Podcast
Director of Sustainability, Lisa Lin speaks with Cleartrace podcast 04/17/2023 Scaling Up Local Government’s Sustainability Ambitions with Harris County’s Lisa Lin. Read More Podcast
Harris County designated “SolSmart Silver” for solar energy leadership 04/06/2023 (Harris County, TX) – April 6, 2023 — Harris County Commissioners Court announced this week that the County received, for the first time, the Silver designation from the national SolSmart program for encouraging the growth of clean, affordable solar energy at the local level. Read More
Harris County working with SolSmart program 03/20/2023 Harris County is taking bold steps to make solar energy accessible and widespread to help reduce energy costs, achieve sustainability goals, and promote economic growth. Read More
Harris County’s Climate Action Plan for internal operations 01/11/2023 (Harris County, TX) – January 10, 2023 – Now more than ever, accelerated decarbonization to 2030 is feasible as industries retool for clean technology development, and historical federal funding spurs innovation and the widespread adoption of climate action. Read More Reports
Violent crime in Harris County is trending downward 10/25/2022 (Harris County, TX) – October 25, 2022-- In a presentation to the Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday, the Office of County Administration will give an update on the violent crime rate in Harris County, reporting a 12% overall drop in violent crime countywide compared to this time in 2021. Read More
Criminal Case Backlog and Violent Crime Reduction Update 10/25/2022 Presentation from Commissioners Court, October 25th, 2022. Read More
Harris County launches Youth Reinvestment Fund to prevent crime 05/06/2022 Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and other county leaders announced a new $4 million initiative May 5 to help reduce crime and address racial disparities in juvenile detention. According to a news release, the program will prioritize investment in communities with high rates of juvenile justice referrals. Read More
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo announces $4M initiative aimed at helping area’s youth 05/05/2022 HOUSTON – Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo’s Office announced an initiative aimed at reducing crime across Harris County. Read More
Harris County announces $4 million Youth Reinvestment Fund to combat youth gun violence 05/05/2022 HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- Harris County leaders discussed a new, multi-million dollar crime prevention program at a press conference on Thursday. Read More
Independent monitors report Harris County bail reform not contributing to crime increase 03/18/2022 The Harris County Justice Administration Department reported recent bail reforms for those who have committed misdemeanors have positively affected the community, according to a March 16 news release. Read More
Harris County’s misdemeanor bail reforms are working, a new report finds 03/18/2022 Harris County bail reforms enacted two years ago have not led to an increase in crime or recidivism rates, according to a new federal monitor’s report. Read More
HARRIS COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR FOCUSES ON COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION TO IMPROVE QUALITY OF LIFE 03/09/2022 On March 9th the West Houston Association (WHA) hosted a Harris County Update with David Berry who recently assumed the newly created role of Harris County Administrator. Utilizing a fireside chat style format, Alia Vinson, partner with Allen Boone Humphries Robinson and WHA Executive Committee member, moderated the discussion and took questions from the audience. Read More News
Father of teen killed while leaving Astros game helps unveil Harris County Bail Dashboard 02/24/2022 Read More
Harris County Commissioner unveils new online bail dashboard for public view 02/24/2022 HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- In response to the ongoing issues with the bail bonds system, Harris County Commissioner Adrian Garcia has introduced a new online system that will allow the public to view the data from the bond system. Read More
Stakeholders use data to address Harris County’s criminal justice system challenges 02/07/2022 Local agencies are working together to improve Harris County’s criminal justice system—a system experts said is overwhelmed with a backlog of cases and discriminates against low-income residents and people of color. Read More
Harris County Welcomes Nationally Recognized Leader as Deputy County Administrator for Justice & Safety 01/31/2022 Harris County is proud to welcome Perrye K. Turner, Sr. as its first Deputy County Administrator for Justice & Safety. Read More News
Harris County hires new budget director, county engineer, flood control district head 01/25/2022 Today, Harris County is proud to announce the hiring of three experienced officials to serve in key leadership positions. Read More News
Harris County Names Experienced Leaders in Key Positions 01/25/2022 Today, Harris County is proud to announce the hiring of three experienced officials to serve in key leadership positions Read More Video
TECHTALK WITH GUEST DAVID BERRY 12/02/2021 Harris County’s Office of County Administrator appeared on TechTalk to talk about his role, vision, and goals for the third-largest county in the United States. Read More
Harris County Justice Administration releases local crime trends and comparisons 11/17/2021 HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KIAH) The crime rate data for Harris County and other counties in Texas are sourced from the Texas Department of Public Safety Website, which is available for public use. Law enforcement agencies submit this data to the DPS, and this is made readily accessible on their website – https://txucr.nibrs.com/Report/IndexCrimesReport. The data for large counties in the US are sourced from various public websites, which are also available for public view/use. Read More
Harris County Commissioners approve best practices to help immigrant crime victims 10/12/2021 Read More
Idea to reduce backlog by dismissing thousands of felony cases proves too far for Harris County 09/19/2021 The number of criminal cases pending before Harris County courts stands at more than 94,000. That includes 41,000 misdemeanors and 53,000 felonies, numbers so high that if prosecutors stopped filing criminal charges tomorrow, it would take misdemeanor judges a year to clear their dockets; felony judges would need 19 months, based on their average pace for closing cases since 2017. Read More
Why Harris County Leaders Created The Position Of County Administrator 07/08/2021 Last week, Harris County Commissioners Court voted three-to-two along party lines to create a new position: county administrator. The first person named to the post was David Berry, who for the moment also retains his prior role as the county's chief budget officer.However, the appointment was not without controversy, so Houston Public Media spoke with Berry about why Harris County needed this role and what exactly a county administrator does. Read More Reports
Harris County commission votes to reduce 100,000-case backlog 06/29/2021 HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- On Tuesday, Harris County commissioners unanimously approved two measures to alleviate a massive criminal case backlog in Harris County. Commissioners voted to make improvements to technology, jury service and to add more judges. Read More
Local leaders pitch plan to clear backlog of cases amid violent crime rise 06/29/2021 HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Acknowledging the uptick in crime across Houston and Harris County throughout the pandemic, leaders spoke Monday morning about efforts to reduce the violence, pointing specifically to the courts and proposing a $14.8 million investment in public safety. Read More
Harris County identifies racial disparities in use of force, citations from law enforcement agencies 06/09/2021 The Harris County Justice Administration Department presented a report to Commissioners Court on June 8 following a unanimously approved motion for the department to “analyze existing racial profiling data produced by law enforcement” approximately one year earlier. Read More
A year after George Floyd's death, it's time to turn rhetoric into meaningful action 05/25/2021 Read More
County officials take aim at increase in violent crime; Lake Houston area sees uptick amid pandemic 04/26/2021 Read More
JAD’s Policy Analyst, Colin Cepuran, PhD talks with KPFT- 90.1 host, Richard Hanna on Bail Reform in Harris County 04/15/2021 Read More
JAD’s Deputy Director, Dr. Ana Yáñez Correa on a call for a Racial and Ethnic Disparity Study 04/15/2021 Houston Public Media speaks to JAD’s Deputy Director, Dr. Ana Yáñez Correa on a call for a Racial and Ethnic Disparity Study Read More Podcast
Harris County Crime Statistics and Bail Reform - Community Impact Newspaper 04/01/2021 A rise in violent crime in Harris County has local officials urgently seeking solutions to combat the trend. However, a debate over the origins of the increase—including a 43% year-to-date increase in murder and a 33% increase in aggravated assaults—has sparked questions of exactly what is to blame and what should be done. Read More
Policy Analyst, Colin Cepuran, PhD joins Commissioner Ellis and Harris County Partners for "One for All" Podcast 03/23/2021 What even is county government? What's the difference between a county and a city? And why should I care about any of it? One for All is here to answer those questions and many more. The goal of this podcast is to demystify county government. We will be talking to different policy and community experts about issues concerning Harris County while breaking down what county government actually does. Here at Harris County Precinct One, we hope you follow along! Read More
Senate Testimony for Bill SB-21 - News 88.7 - Houston Public Media 03/18/2021 A new GOP-backed bill in the Texas Senate to restrict the use of bail for certain defendants would put Harris County at risk of violating a federal mandate, according to testimony from a county official on Thursday. Read More
Kenneth Hardin selected to lead Harris County's first managed assigned counsel program 10/15/2020 Isiah speaks with Kenneth Hardin, Executive Director of the Managed Assigned Counsel, as county commissioners take steps towards criminal justice reform. Read More