$4.7 million plan for women in Harris County jail
Published: Wed, 04/12/23
Lina Hidalgo announces $4.7 million plan for women in Harris County jail
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said Tuesday she will allocate nearly $5 million to support the county's incarcerated women.
Michael Murney, Chron
The Harris County Commissioners Court approved the funding last week. According to KPRC 2's Amanda Cochran, the $4.7 million allocation will support mental health services, trauma counseling, vocational and educational training, and substance abuse counseling, among other services.
The money for these expanded programs will draw upon American Rescue Plan Act resources distributed to Harris County by the federal federal government, according to Cochran.
“These resources will ultimately help women reenter society successfully, reduce recidivism, and cut the cycle of incarceration,” Hidalgo’s office said in a news release, according to Cochran.Hidalgo will hold a 3:30 p.m. press conference on Tuesday about the planned programming.
News of expanded services for Harris County's women detainees comes following a historically deadly start to 2023 in Harris County Jail, announcements of state and federal investigations into recent jail deaths and protests from victims' families at the Texas State Capitol.
Hidalgo's plans for expanded services for women detainees follows another multi-million plan to overhaul services for detainees held within Texas' largest county jail system. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez presented a four-part, $6.8 million plan to address the jail's substandard conditions during a commissioners court meeting last month. Commissioners approved the plan.
Sheriff Gonzalez's plan aims to address numerous problems documented by state inspectors during a walk-through in February. Harris County Jail failed to meet minimum standards during that walk-through, the latest in a series of failed inspections stretching into last year.