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Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo announced on Tuesday that her office will earmark nearly $5 million to help women inmates in the Harris County Jail, per reports from Houston-based media outlets.
Houston NBC affiliate KPRC reported that the Harris County Commissioners Court passed the measure earlier this month.
“These resources will ultimately help women reenter society successfully, reduce recidivism and cut the cycle of incarceration,” Hidalgo, a Democrat, said in a press release issued by her office, KPRC reported.
Drawn from the county’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARP) funds, the money will go toward lending assistance such as mental health support, trauma counseling, education and job training for those in the Women’s Center Jail, according to the station.
Houston NPR affiliate Houston Public Media (HPM) reported that the Harris County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) opened the facility in February.
It houses women facing charges for offenses like vandalism, trespassing and disorderly conduct who are deemed either a minimum or medium security risk, per HPM.
Hidalgo said that the women’s jail will offer support on a “one-to-one basis.”
“Research shows that individualized attention is what makes a difference in successful reentry and lowering recidivism … [It’s] unprecedented at this scale,” the county judge said, HPM reported.
While nearly 90% of women jailed in Harris County are between the ages of 26 to 35 and suffer a certain mental health issue, Hidalgo said, “100% of the women” will receive help.
The county has come under heavy scrutiny and criticism for what the State of Texas deemed dire conditions at the jail, including, but not limited to staff shortages, overcrowding and in-custody deaths.
Houston Daily reported that the commissioners court unanimously approved $7.4 million last month to go toward improvements in response to negative findings in a Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) report.