SWRK 4319: Social Welfare Policy Analysis

"The City of Houston’s Housing and Community Development Department (HCDD) provides the leadership and financing to make affordable homes and neighborhood revitalization happen in Houston."

"In an unprecedented collaboration involving area agencies and nonprofits providing homeless service, HCDD used its funds to help build, and is now supporting the maintenance of, a proactive “Housing First” model which is providing permanent supportive housing with wraparound supportive services to address the mental, physical and behavioral needs of homeless persons."

"The Mayor’s Office for Homeless Initiatives (MOHI) manages the City of Houston’s response to homelessness by coordinating the efforts of various City agencies, including the Housing and Community Development Department, the Health and Human Services Department, the Houston Police Department and others. The MOHI develops best practice-oriented public policy for the City of Houston, while guiding the City’s participation in ongoing regional planning activities."

"The Harris County Sheriff's Office, founded in 1837, is the largest sheriff's office in Texas and the third largest in the United States. The HCSO has nearly 4600 employees and 200 reservists dedicated to ensuring the safety of over 4.1 million residents who call Harris County home. Harris County encompasses 1788 square miles (1729 land) and includes forty-one incorporated municipalities."

"The mission of the Houston Police Department is to enhance the quality of life in the city of Houston by working cooperatively with the public to prevent crime, enforce the law, preserve the peace, and provide a safe environment."

"The FMHC is based on the national problem-solving court model. It is a collaborative partnership between the criminal justice system, a network of community-based providers and the participant. The ultimate goal of the FMHC is to ensure public safety and minimize recidivism while diverting defendants with a mental illness from incarceration and instead facilitating linkage to appropriate treatment and community resources."

"Comprised of 35 classified personnel and 39 behavioral health professionals, Houston’s mental health division oversees the department’s multi-faceted specialized strategies for responding to the mentally ill."

The mission of STAR Drug Court is "to build the community's confidence in the criminal justice system through more effective judicial and public intervention based on changed perceptions of addiction. The drug court will seek to more efficiently utilize all available resources to save money and to save lives."

"Houston Crackdown is a division of the Mayor's Office of Public Safety and Homeland Security that coordinates and supports volunteer projects in the areas of substance abuse prevention, treatment, and law enforcement."

"The Mayor’s Office of Education (MOE) strives to ensure this goal for all families in Houston by promoting access to equitable education opportunities. MOE focuses on three key strategies: collaboration, communication, and coordination."

"Harris County Protective Services (HCPS) was founded in 1966 as Harris County Child Welfare to provide support services for the children taken under the wing of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Fifty years later, HCPS still provides this support. But the now-county department has expanded services for early prevention, intervention and adult services."

"The Planning and Development Department uses information from the U.S. Census Bureau along with other agencies to develop demographic data and estimates for the City as well as City Council Districts and City Super Neighborhoods. Demographic data includes, but is not limited to: population, housing, household, income and other social characteristics. Please see official demographic descriptions for further details."

"This is the community's public platform for exploring and downloading open data, discovering and building apps, and engaging to solve important local issues. You can analyze and combine Open Datasets using maps, as well as develop new web and mobile applications."