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Harris Center awarded $8 million by HHSC for Burnett Bayland children’s campus; county to provide in‑kind match
Summary
Harris Center reported an $8 million Health and Human Services Commission award to build a facility for children without placement on county‑owned Burnett Bayland Park property; court accepted attestation language and approved related consent items.
Representatives of the Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD told the Commissioners Court that the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) offered $8,000,000 to construct a children’s placement facility on property in Burnett Bayland Park in Precinct 4.
Amanda Jones of the Harris Center said the award followed months of negotiation and that Harris County — specifically Precinct 4 — will provide the in‑kind local match. Jones thanked the county and listed partner entities that will collaborate on the campus, including Harris County juvenile probation and local behavioral health and child services providers.
Joel Levine, executive from Resources for Children and Adults, told the court the county had 12 youth without placement the previous night and that an HHSC/Harris Center facility would reduce the need to rely on hotels or general residential operations ill‑suited for those youth. Levine described the project as a “step down” with integrated medical, dental and food services anticipated through existing county partners.
County staff described the agenda item as an attestation form that would become an attachment to a construction grant agreement between HHSC and the Harris Center; the county is not a signatory to the grant agreement but the property targeted for the project is county‑owned. The attestation acknowledges HHSC’s interest in the constructed facility and authorizes the Harris Center to act as trustee with HHSC while preserving Harris County’s ownership and approval rights under any existing interlocal agreements.
The court approved the consent agenda (which included this item) during routine business; the approval did not change county ownership of the property and commissioners asked staff to ensure reporting and oversight rights were preserved in the county’s interlocal instruments.
Next steps: Harris Center and county partners will proceed with the HHSC grant process and the Harris Center will serve as the project trustee for construction, subject to the attestation framework accepted by majority action within the consent vote.
