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Audit finds Durham’s HEART program performing well; staff to tighten data timeliness
Summary
An audit of Durham’s Holistic Empathetic Assistance Response Team (HEART) praised the program’s performance while recommending more conservative targets and faster case-recording. City officials said they are implementing steps for weekly documentation checks and improved staffing models.
A performance audit presented to the Durham City Council found the city’s HEART community response program has made substantial progress responding to nonviolent mental‑health and quality‑of‑life calls but needs to improve some operational targets and case-record timing.
Jermaine Broington, director of Audit Services, summarized the audit’s objectives and key findings: he called the program “awesome” and said the audit’s two recommendations were (1) reassess the fiscal-year '25 response targets, which Audit Services judged ambitious compared with recent performance, and (2) improve timeliness of documentation, specifically closing service records within the department’s 24‑hour policy.
“Using the other metrics from the Kennedy School of Government, they’re going to do some more research to make sure what you’re telling the public is reasonable,” Broington said, describing the audit’s review of HEART targets.
Ryan Smith, director of Community Safety, told council the department is already implementing changes. Smith said staffing refinements and a more sophisticated scheduling model have brought three of HEART’s four program lines to or above forecasted response levels; co‑response remains the largest gap. “To put in context, on 98.9% of the time, we were closing out our service records within our goal,” Smith added, and said supervisors now check records weekly to capture exceptions and close outstanding items.
The audit team sampled service records and noted 28 cases that exceeded the 24‑hour documentation target; Audit Services and department leaders agreed the sample shows an area for improvement even though the department said the out‑of‑compliance records are a small fraction of total cases. Smith said the department tracks responses that do not require law enforcement; the Community Response Team handled roughly 83% of the calls it received without police involvement, and the Crisis Call Diversion line managed approximately 50% of eligible calls by phone.
Council members praised the program as a national model and asked staff to return with the multiyear evaluations already under way, including an RTI quantitative analysis and a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation‑funded Duke Cook Center evaluation. Smith said the evaluations will be shared publicly and with council when deliverables are ready.
Council members and the manager also used the session to thank outgoing City Manager Wanda Paige and to recognize that HEART’s formation was part of Paige’s legacy for the city.
