Tarrant County will shut down its Department of Human Services, the agency that offers rental and utility assistance to people in need 鈥� giving the funding to outside organizations instead.
Commissioners voted 4-1 to close the department. Supporters of the closure said the department is inefficient and the money could be better used elsewhere. Opponents argued Human Services should have been given a chance to fix any problems before outsourcing the work to a nonprofit that hasn鈥檛 been picked yet.
Partnering with an outside organization would get more money to people who need it, Republican Commissioner Manny Ramirez said.
"I鈥檓 not vain enough to think that we in government can solve all the problems,鈥� he said. 鈥淪ometimes, we need to say, we鈥檙e not operating efficiently enough. Perhaps we should shift gears and try to go there.鈥�
In fiscal year 2024, the Department of Human Services cost $2.5 million to run and spent about $1 million in county funding for direct aid, .
The $1 million in spending does not include donations from utility companies, who provide aid money for their customers who need help paying their bills, budget director Helen Giese said.
The county budget office also determined that Human Services left millions of dollars in aid unspent over several years.
The closure will eliminate 25 jobs. Not all of them are currently filled, as several people retired in response to the news the department would close, according to Democratic County Commissioner Alisa Simmons.
Simmons was the only vote to keep the department open.
鈥淭he reality is, this elimination is not efficiency,鈥� she said. 鈥淭rue efficiency would be to improve operations to serve more people at a lower cost, not abandon a mission entirely.鈥�
Under the new plan, the county would provide $2 million to an outside organization to do the same work, Giese said. The county will convene an advisory board, appointed by commissioners, to pick the organization, which is scheduled to be approved October 7.
Some current employees would stay on until January to help clients transition to the new system, according to the county鈥檚 timeline.
In June, employees were told they were getting laid off, before commissioners voted on the closure. The county later said that was a mistake, according to internal communications obtained by 四虎影院.
Democratic County Commissioner Roderick Miles Jr. voted alongside his Republican colleagues to eliminate the department. He expressed concern about how many people the department turned away each year.
In fiscal year 2025 鈥� as of July 28 鈥� more than 6,700 people had applied for rental assistance, Giese said. Only 292 got help. Utility assistance numbers had similar discrepancies.
"It says to me that we need to update and overhaul our eligibility requirements,鈥� Miles said. 鈥淎nd I would hope that if this does pass, that would be a focus of that [advisory] group 鈥� that we鈥檇 look at those eligibility requirements so that we can get more dollars out of the door and into the hands of the people who need it the most.鈥�
Several community members urged commissioners to keep the department open.
Deborah Kratky, formerly with Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County, told commissioners $2 million would overwhelm most local nonprofits, not help.
鈥淚 can tell you some of the things I鈥檝e learned. One of them is, there鈥檚 only a handful of nonprofits in Tarrant County that could handle a grant for $2 million dollars,鈥� she said.
There鈥檚 also very little time to find an organization that can take on the department鈥檚 work, Kratky said. One former Human Services employee told 四虎影院 she's worried there's not a single nonprofit that can replace the department, since many focus on specific populations, not the county as a whole.
Republican County Judge Tim O鈥橦are voted to close the department while urging county staff to help the workers getting laid off.
鈥淚f we do this the right way, everybody that wants a job, and wants Tarrant County鈥檚 help, should be able to find one in a relatively short timeframe,鈥� he said.
On Tuesday, Simmons read resolutions acknowledging several longtime Human Services employees who have retired or are about to retire.
Sharon Downs, the department鈥檚 assistant director and one of the retirees, told commissioners she hoped the county would keep making rental, utility, food and hygiene assistance accessible in Tarrant County.
"We have previous staff, we have current staff, who have always been devoted to providing the services and the needs of our community,鈥� she said. 鈥淔uturistically, I would still like to see that occur for residents.鈥�
This story has been updated to indicate Deborah Kratky is a former employee of Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County.
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