Housing department outlines proposed SEARCH amendments to expand early-childhood care and rapid rehousing funding

The Houston Quality of Life Committee heard presentations on two proposed amendments to agreements with SEARCH Homeless Services that would expand child-care and rapid-rehousing supports, Department of Housing and Community Development staff said on Nov. 12.

Assistant Director Melody Barr described item 2A as a proposed first amendment to an existing agreement that would provide up to an additional $100,000 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to support an early-childhood development program operating at SEARCH's House of Tiny Treasures in the Third Ward. "This program will serve a minimum of 20 unduplicated children ages 21 to 5 years of age and provides support services to their families," Barr said. Programming, she said, includes biannual developmental assessment, individual learning plans for children identified with developmental delays or mental-health issues, and meals; family services would include case management, counseling, transportation and parenting classes.

Barr told the committee the amendment would extend SEARCH's agreement through Oct. 31, 2026. Barr also said the contract-level performance shown through September 2025 included SEARCH exceeding an enrollment goal by 35 percent and serving 30 children under the program represented in item 2A.

On item 2B, Barr outlined a second amendment that would provide up to an additional $376,669 in a mix of CDBG and Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) funding to continue administration and operations of a homeless-services program focused on rapid rehousing and housing case management. "This program includes rapid rehousing along with housing case management," she said, and the amendment would extend the term to Dec. 31, 2026. Barr said that as of Sept. 30, SEARCH had served 103 households on this program and had expended approximately 80 percent of the funding tied to the current contract.

Committee members sought operational detail about how clients enter rapid rehousing programs and how the SEARCH-funded services connect with the recently discussed 419 Emancipation site. Assistant Director Barr and SEARCH staff said entry pathways vary: clients can be engaged by outreach teams on the street, brought through shelters or the sobering center, or routed from the navigation center. Barr said the grant includes a target performance metric of 75 days from engagement to move'in; SEARCH staff reported an actual average of about 15.5 days on this funding stream so far.

Phoebe Wong, SEARCH's director of housing, described the organization's case-management model: each client is assigned a single case manager who conducts a one'on'one assessment, builds individualized goals and plans, and helps remove barriers that could prevent long'term housing stability. "The case manager is that person who walks with the individual in our program, to really kind of work through specific goals," Wong said.

Nichols and Barr emphasized SEARCH's long relationship with the city. Barr said SEARCH has received funding from the city since 1996 and had no findings on the most recent compliance monitoring noted in the presentation.

No formal vote or council action occurred during the committee meeting; the department presented the proposed amendments and answered questions. Department staff said the funding agreements would be brought forward for council consideration as next steps.

What happens next: Department staff said the amendments and any related funding agreements will proceed through administrative review and then to city council for approval as required. Specific council hearing dates were not given in the committee discussion during the meeting.