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Trinity County officials warn CJIS reporting gaps could jeopardize grants
Summary
County staff told the Commissioners Court on April 14 that Trinity County’s CJIS reporting completeness is below the 90% threshold required for some grants (reported around 85–87%), risking Senate Bill 22 funds and two grant applications unless offices log cases promptly; staff said clerks and prosecutors are working to close a backlog within days.
Trinity County officials told the Commissioners Court on April 14 that the county’s completeness for the Department of Public Safety’s Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS) reporting is below the 90% threshold required to qualify for certain grants, putting some funding at risk.
A presenter briefing the court said multiple offices — including the sheriff’s office, district clerk, county clerk, the prosecutor’s office and the county judge’s office — share responsibility for entering case information into the CJIS system. The presenter reported the county’s overall completeness in recent internal checks at roughly 85–87% and said the state requires 90% completeness to be eligible for some grant funds. The briefing noted a backlog of about 151 files not submitted to CJIS by a former criminal clerk and that the state’s rules require entries within 30 days of disposition; missing or late entries can reduce an office’s completeness percentage and jeopardize grant awards.
A district clerk’s office representative said the office is working through a list of pending cases and that many cases are awaiting actions by other parties, limiting what the clerk can enter. "I also have a list that I have to go through," the district clerk’s office speaker said, adding that pending cases reduce immediate ability to achieve 100% completeness.
County staff and meeting participants warned that two upcoming grant applications could be affected if completeness is not corrected imminently; one speaker said two grant applications were at risk and that some awards might be lost if submissions are not current. Staff said they are working daily to fix entries and that the goal is to reach the 90% threshold quickly — the presenter urged all involved offices to prioritize corrections so grant writers can submit applications. One court member asked whether staff could meet a near-term target; a clerk said she felt confident she could get it done within 15 days.
No formal action to reassign staffing or change policy was recorded in the meeting minutes; court members instructed affected offices to continue remedial work. County officials and clerks agreed to prioritize CJIS entries to preserve grant eligibility and to follow up internally with specific offices involved in reporting.
