Special Projects/Initiatives
Dallas County Strategic Plan
In the summer of 2005, Commissioner Cantrell presented a proposal to Commissioners Court to review the idea of developing a Strategic Plan for Dallas County. Over the past 30 years, the County's role has expanded and instead of only acting as the State's local administrative arm, the county has become more active in regional matters such as information technology and transportation, as well as other non-traditional areas such as financing a sports arena and managing the local zoo. Commissioner Cantrell believed the time had come to pro-actively decide as a Court in what issues the county should invest its resources. In November 2005, the Court approved a Request for Proposal to identify a consultant to assist the County in developing a Strategic Plan. The Plan will be used by the Court to determine in which activities, programs, and projects the County should become involved or initiate over the long term.
(Last updated January 2006)
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Alliance on Underage Drinking (ALOUD)
ALOUD is a collaboration of police officials, individuals from various levels of government, social service agencies, and TxDOT officials whose focus is to reduce the incidence and impact of underage drinking through increased community involvement by increasing parental involvement, creating public awareness campaigns, developing a concentrated enforcement of existing laws and ordinances, and developing consistent prosecution and sentencing of offenders.
(Last updated January 2006)
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The New Look
In light of potential tax and revenue "caps" for local governments, and the resulting outlook for minimal or non-existent funds available for employee compensation increases, in January 2004 Commissioner Cantrell assembled a working group consisting of individuals from Commissioners Court Administration, Human Resources, Auditor, and the Office of Budget and Evaluation departments to be proactive in looking at how Dallas County would handle workforce investments for the 2005 and coming budget years. The "New Look" Committee met weekly and formulated a process for looking at all services county government provides and whether those services were "mandatory" or "traditional". The Committee's challenge was to determine, for mandatory services, if there were a more efficient or effective way to provide the service, and for traditional services, if the benefit generated justified the continuation of the service, and if so, could it also be done more
efficiently and effectively? The end goal was to re-engineer county government to be more efficient in the delivery of services while at the same time providing as good or better services to the taxpayers. Any savings from departmental initiatives, up to $21 million, would then be used for workforce investment in the next fiscal year.
The Commissioners Court approved the New Look initiative and made a commitment to utilize the savings for workforce investments. By June 2004, 86 proposals had been submitted for discussion, with 26 of them being assigned to working committees for further development. The estimated value of the 26 proposals was $22 million.
(Last updated January 2006)
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Dallas County Community Plan
A comprehensive planning document compiled annually by local representatives from government, law enforcement, schools, social service agencies, health care, non-profits, and interested community participants as a prerequisite for application for grants from the Criminal Justice Division of the Governor's Office. Commissioner chaired the Plan from inception through 2002. For more information on the annual Community Plan, contact the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG).
(Last updated January 2006)
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Texas Conference of Urban Counties TechShare Program
The Dallas County JIS will be featured as the first "shared asset" of a new CUC program called TechShare. TechShare is designed to provide a framework to allow counties to share technology assets to meet common needs. TechShare guidelines outline project governance and funding structures (projects will be governed by the participating entities themselves) for driving system implementation as well as ongoing operations, maintenance, and system enhancements. TechShare is not itself a funding source, but a project management tool.
The following counties are currently implementing the JIS through the TechShare program: Collin, Denton, El Paso, Kaufman, Rockwall, and Tarrant.
(Last updated January 2006)
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Protective Order Rapid Response Team (PORRT)
Formed in February of 1996, the PORRT's goal was to re-engineer and streamline the process of obtaining a protective order in Dallas County. Team members included representatives from the District Clerk, District Attorney, and Constable offices, as well as from the judiciary and local domestic violence shelters. At the time the Team was created, a battered person could expect to wait 20 days or more from the time they filed an application for the protective order until the citation and ex parte protective order were served on the alleged batterer. This was followed by an additional wait of up to several weeks before a hearing was held and the final protective order issued. Once the team implemented identified improvements, battered persons were able to file an application and have an alleged batterer served with an ex parte protective order within 4 to 5 days, and to have a hearing and final protective order issued within 12-14 days from beginning to end.
(Last updated January 2006)
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TechShare - Juvenile Information System (JIS)
In the fall of 1998, Dallas County and fifteen of its cities initiated a collaboration with the common vision of building a web-based, cross-jurisdictional, interactive "data warehouse" or information system which would allow participants in the juvenile justice system to share and access current, pertinent data on juvenile offenders across the County, from the time of arrest through final disposition. Participants included law enforcement, the District Attorney, the courts, schools, and other agencies serving juvenile offenders. Participating cities combined their Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grant (JAIBG) Awards with Dallas County's, selected an IT vendor, and the Juvenile Information System, or JIS, was born.
Today, the multi-million dollar JIS system is utilized by 90+ agencies in Dallas County, with 37 of those (including the Dallas Police Department) using JIS as their primary juvenile system. Following the events of September 11th, 2001, the JIS took on new importance as a possible first step to building a true local, statewide, and nationwide Homeland Security information system. Recently the JIS received the 2005 Best of Texas Best Application Serving Multiple Jurisdictions award from the Center for Digital Government. The award is given in recognition of an outstanding collaborative effort among multiple agencies or jurisdictions in the development of systems that deliver services more efficiently and effectively to the public and that assist participating agencies in handling their day-to-day work.
The JIS has also become the first shared asset of the Texas of Conference of Urban Counties TechShare program (see below for more information on TechShare).
(Last updated January 2006)
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Orders of Protective Custody
Assisted in resolving a number of hindrances and issues surrounding enforcement of an Order of Protective Custody, or OPC, which is designed to enable authorities to transport mentally ill individuals from the Psychiatric Emergency Room at Parkland Hospital, where they are often taken for stabilization in a crisis situation, to an appropriate residential treatment facility. Under the old system, lack of a signature from an authorized individual prevented the timely transfer of patients from Parkland, which is a space-limited short-term treatment facility only. Commissioner Cantrell was able to bring together the necessary parties to create a new system whereby an authorized signature for transfer is available by fax 24 hours per day, 7 days per week to ER personnel.
(Last updated January 2006)
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TechShare - Juvenile Case Management System (JCMS)
In the fall of 1998, Dallas County and fifteen of its cities initiated a collaboration with the common vision of building a web-based, cross-jurisdictional, interactive "data warehouse" or information system which would allow participants in the juvenile justice system to share and access current, pertinent data on juvenile offenders across the County, from the time of arrest through final disposition. Participants included law enforcement, the District Attorney, the courts, schools, and other agencies serving juvenile offenders. Participating cities combined their Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grant (JAIBG) Awards with Dallas County's, selected an IT vendor, and the Juvenile Information System, or JIS, was born.
Today, the multi-million dollar JIS system is utilized by 90+ agencies in Dallas County, with 37 of those (including the Dallas Police Department) using JIS as their primary juvenile system. Following the events of September 11th, 2001, the JIS took on new importance as a possible first step to building a true local, statewide, and nationwide Homeland Security information system. Recently the JIS received the 2005 Best of Texas Best Application Serving Multiple Jurisdictions award from the Center for Digital Government. The award is given in recognition of an outstanding collaborative effort among multiple agencies or jurisdictions in the development of systems that deliver services more efficiently and effectively to the public and that assist participating agencies in handling their day-to-day work.
The JIS has also become the first shared asset of the Texas of Conference of Urban Counties TechShare program (see below for more information on TechShare).
(Last updated January 2006)
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Mental Illness Warrants
Established a more user-friendly system for the attainment of a Mental Illness Warrant in Dallas County. Previously, concerned friends or family members who needed to obtain a Mental Illness Warrant, or MIW, for a loved one had no choice but to travel to downtown Dallas and navigate not only the unfamiliar downtown streets and buildings, but also a complicated warrant process, involving travel to several different locations. Under the new system, family members may obtain an MIW in one stop from their local Justice of the Peace office, which is often located in or near their own neighborhood. The new process reduced duress and inconvenience for the petitioner at a time which is already emotionally stressful, and more evenly distributed the workload across the county and court system, thereby allowing for a quicker response in these often urgent situations.
(Last updated January 2006)
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TechShare - Common Integrated Justice System (CIJS)
Thirteen member counties of the Texas Conference of Urban Counties have joined forces to create a common framework for the development or purchase of an integrated justice case management systems for Texas counties. The project has included developing requirements documentation, defining common data elements and a data dictionary, and developing recommended technological architecture to allow counties to develop or purchase their own systems based on the common framework or combine their purchasing power and procure a common system as a group. The project's goal is to provide a common "language" or data infrastructure so as to increase each system's ability to communicate and share information with that of another County, further improving our ability to exchange Homeland Security information and protect our local and national security interests. In addition each participating County should realize savings based on the combined purchasing effort.
(Last updated January 2006)
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Jail Psychiatric Task Force
Spearheaded effort to evaluate and implement recommendations made by the Jail Psychiatric Services Evaluation Committee regarding psychiatric services offered to mentally ill inmates in the county jail. Provides for continuity of care, more effective delivery of services, and ongoing cooperation between all entities.
(Last updated January 2006)
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Truancy Information System (TIS)
The TIS is being developed as an arm and additional tool of the Juvenile Information System (JIS). Filing truancy cases in the past has involved the school district producing a hard-copy document from their system, hand-carrying it to the court, and the court re-entering the information on its own system in order to process the case. The process was inefficient and prone to error. In addition, information about each case was limited to that specific court, creating a significant information gap among the courts and schools. The TIS will enable a real-time electronic interface, or "e-filing", of truancy cases between the school districts and the courts and will eliminate the redundancy of re-entering information as well as create a shared database of information that can assist the courts, schools, and law enforcement in dealing with the issue of truancy in their communities.
(Last updated January 2006)
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Wagon Wheel Lane
Wagon Wheel Lane had for years been a substandard road in the unincorporated area and had deteriorated to the point of being and health and safety hazard due to the inability of emergency vehicles to access homes on the street. Commissioner Cantrell worked for seven years with residents living along this road to identify a legal process by which the County could adopt and maintain the road and also to identify a funding source which would provide for construction expenses necessary to bring the road up to County standards.
(Last updated January 2006)
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Child Welfard Information System (CWIS)
The CWIS will enable electronic filing of criminal abuse and neglect cases against parents and caregivers between the State's Child Protective Services (CPS) Division and the District Attorney's Office.
(Last updated January 2006)
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Dorothy Lane Sanitary Sewer
Instrumental in moving forward the installation of sanitary sewer lines to serve Dorothy Lane residents located in the unincorporated area of Dallas County. Dorothy Lane residents had experienced significant ongoing problems with septic tanks and sanitation, posing a threat to the public health and the residents themselves, due to the subdivision's high water table, poor drainage, and substandard lot size. The project eliminated a public health nuisance, was a multi-jurisdictional collaboration and provided a direct benefit to citizens.
(Last updated January 2006)
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Adult Information System (AIS)
In 2001, the JIS concept was rolled out on the adult side, and a $1 million grant from the Criminal Justice Division of the Governor's Office was awarded to Dallas County to begin development of the Adult Information System or AIS. To date, over $8 million in state and federal grant dollars have supported system design and development. The AIS went live in late 2004 and is anticipated to be ready for rollout to other counties near the end of 2006. The AIS & JIS together form the local basis for building a true local, statewide, and nationwide Homeland Security information system, and are posed to feed information into the proposed NDEx and TDEx systems via regional fusion centers.
(Last updated January 2006)
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Sexually Oriented Business Court Order
Instrumental in pushing through a Commissioners Court Order which regulates the location and operation of sexually oriented businesses in the County's unincorporated areas. Court Order was developed and passed after a sexually oriented business opened in an unincorporated area of District 2. This provided the Commissioners Court with a method for regulating sexually oriented businesses in the unincorporated area of the county which protects citizens from unwanted noise and traffic in their neighborhoods and provides an opportunity for citizen input.
(Last updated January 2006)
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Dallas County Specialized Truancy Courts
Truancy is an early warning sign for a number of problems a child may be having at home or at school such as drugs, alcohol, abuse, etc. In Texas, both Municipal and Justice of the Peace (JP) Courts are allowed to hear Failure to Attend School and Parent Contributing to Truancy cases. However, because of the volume of cases in the Dallas Independent School District alone, the average time from the date of filing until a child had a hearing in front of a Judge was 77 days. In an effort to have a system that would respond timely and consistently in Dallas County, dedicated courts that specialized in truancy related matters were necessary.
In 1999, Commissioner Cantrell visualized and began working on the creation of specialized courts for truancy cases in order to handle them in a consistent and timely manner. In 2002, two County-funded municipal courts were created in the City of Dallas for the sole purpose of hearing Dallas ISD truancy cases. In 2003, Legislation was approved which allowed for a "constitutional county court" in Dallas County to hear truancy cases. The two municipal courts were converted to "county constitutional courts" and an additional court was added to assist with the volume of cases. Another component added to each of the courts was the position of a Juvenile Case Manager who assisted the Magistrates with effective placements into youth programs by identifying issues in the child's like that might be keeping them out of school.
Commissioner Cantrell led the implementation and development of the courts which included a policy and procedure manual, an electronic filing mechanism from DISD to the courts, and the creation of performance measures in order to track successes (i.e. the reduction of the time to hear a case from an average of 77 days to 18 days).
Once the courts were completely operational, in October 2005, Commissioner Cantrell turned all functional and operational aspects of the courts over to the County Judge, who by statute oversees these courts. Commissioner Cantrell will continue to pursue his vision for a complete "Integrated Truancy System" that includes all 15 Independent School Districts within Dallas County. His vision foresees all truancy cases being filed electronically by the ISDs and processed electronically all the way through the courts to final disposition. In addition, he envisions Truancy Courts strategically placed geographically throughout Dallas County.
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Nuisance Abatement Policy
Took the lead in addressing the issue of nuisance abatement in the unincorporated areas of Dallas County, and played key role in the establishment of a county-wide plan for abating nuisances, as well as the addition of a second full-time nuisance abatement officer for the County. Standardized enforcement process throughout the county's unincorporated area, created a plan for addressing existing nuisances, and added resources to increase availability of officers to address citizen complaints.
(Last updated January 2006)
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Truancy Intervention Program & High Impact Teams
The Dallas Challenge Adolescent Class C & Truancy Intervention Project is an early-intervention program designed to support chronically truant children and their families and get the young person back on track, in school, and out of the juvenile justice system. Commissioner Cantrell worked actively to pass legislation which would put "teeth" in the state's juvenile code and allow truancy cases to be filed and enforced directly against the offender.
What was particularly unique about this program was the High Impact Team component. A High Impact Team is composed of trained volunteers from the child's neighborhood and area businesses, churches, law enforcement entities, schools, and service clubs. The volunteer Team "adopts" the family and meets with them on a regular basis. The individual team members utilize their experiences, skills, and resources to assist, mentor, and encourage the family in whatever ways are helpful.
(Last updated January 2006)
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Justice of the peace Jury Services Task Force
Organized the Justice of the Peace Jury Services Task Force to look into ways to streamline the JP jury selection process to make it more functional and convenient for both the courts and the jurors. One success from this coordinated effort was a change in how jurors report to the JP Courts. If a juror is needed for one of the outlying suburban JP courts, the Jury Services Department chooses individuals from the jury pool who live near that community and then allow them to take their own vehicle to that court rather than being shuttled together from downtown. The juror is then released from jury duty directly by the JP when they are finished and are not required to report back downtown to the Central Jury Room.
(Last updated January 2006)
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Dallas County Truancy Task Force
A collaboration of Justices of the Peace, school district officials, District Attorney staff, and community representatives who sought to develop ideas and provide solutions around the issue of truancy among the various entities that are involved in the process, as well as to develop a streamlined, efficient, and effective process in order to respond to truancy in an expeditious manner.
(Last updated January 2006)
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Justice of the Peace & Constable Staffing Standards
Led effort to resolve ongoing historical conflict between the Commissioners Court and the Justices of the Peace and Constables regarding staffing standards for those offices. Established a task force for both the Constables and JPs to review relevant issues and recommend solutions. Brought forward solutions which were subsequently passed by Commissioners Court.
(Last updated January 2006)
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Target: Kids in Court (TKIC)
TKIC is a collaboration of the Dallas community with policy- and decision-makers from the federal, state, and local level working together to create positive outcomes for children and adolescents in the court system. The mission of the initiative is to make significant systemic changes across jurisdictions and geographic areas that will "re-invent" the process for accessing services and volunteers for children in the court system. Individuals from all levels of government work together with volunteers, social service agencies and community leaders to move children out of the court system as quickly as possible and to keep them out.
Many great projects and ideas were generated from the TKIC partners, one of which was the Transition Resource Action Center (TRAC) which opened in March 2003. TRAC is a centralized assessment/intake and referral facility for transitional living services for youth who age out of the foster care system when they turn 18. In the first year, a total of 450 youth were referred to TRAC for assistance with housing, vocational training, health services and many other needed services.
Another project which derived from TKIC was the Annual Dallas County Adoption Day event which is held in November each year. An abundance of volunteers turn out for an exciting celebration at the courthouse where as many as 100 children are adopted in just one day. The newly adopted children are showered with gifts, cookies, balloons, and teddy bears so that it will be a day to remember for all.
(Last updated January 2006)
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Other
Participated in instituting a Judicial Support Personnel Salary Plan which sets compensation policy for the Criminal District Court staff members including Court Coordinators, Staff Attorneys, Law Clerks, Magistrates, and Referees.
Pushed for and passed through Commissioners Court the hiring of a collections agency for dormant accounts, which has significantly increased revenue.
Pushed for and passed through Commissioners Court the addition of two Civil Masters for the Civil District Courts.
Actively participated in the planning and implementation of the DIVERT Court. This court intervenes on the front end of the criminal justice system for non-violent drug offenders with less serious charges.
A proponent for the establishment of an elections fraud unit in the District Attorney's office, consisting of an elections fraud prosecutor and investigator.
Have continued to maintain Dallas County's low tax rate and "double AAA" bond rating.
Helped pass the Freeport Tax Exemption to promote industrial development and the generation of new jobs in Dallas County.
Helped pass the Rodeo City Tax Increment Finance District to encourage economic development in the area.
Helped pass revised tax abatement policy to include "economically significant" projects.
(Last updated January 2006)
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