Harris County Community-Based Care Comprehensive Assessment & Environmental Scan

As part of The Hackett Center for Mental Health’s mission to transform systems and influence policy through unprecedented collaboration, MMHPI published the “Region 6a Community-Based Care (CBC) Comprehensive Assessment and Environmental Scan (Environmental Scan).”

The goal of the Environmental Scan is to serve as a resource for the Houston Community as it plans in the near term to improve the local foster care system and in the longer term to successfully transition to a community-based foster care model. The Hackett Center for Mental Health at the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute was selected to conduct this Environmental Scan and provide a baseline understanding of the region’s capacity to serve its children and youth in foster care, identify areas for systems change, and initiate considerations for reimagining the local foster care system.

This work was supported by an Executive Committee of local child welfare leaders and an Advisory Committee that more broadly involved local service providers and experts in education, health care, faith-based initiatives, criminal and juvenile justice, and child welfare. The findings in the Environmental Scan were shaped through the valuable input of these community members and reflect their values and vision.

This information is intended to be instrumental in laying the foundation for CBC in Houston, and to provide planning considerations based on data, stakeholder insights, and national best practices to help the community prepare for and succeed in its CBC planning and systems change.