Employees with the Tarrant County Department of Human Services have been told they're losing their jobs, even though county commissioners have not yet voted to eliminate the agency.
The county now says that was an accident, according to an email obtained by KERA News.
Human Services is the county agency that offers rent and utility assistance to people in crisis. Two commissioners have said the department is on the chopping block during this summer’s upcoming budget talks.
Commissioners have not yet publicly discussed next year's budget. They usually debate it in August and approve it in September. But KERA News obtained a termination letter sent to a Department of Human Services worker that’s dated June 25.
“This memo serves as formal notification that your position with Tarrant County will no longer be funded as of September 30, 2025,” the memo reads. “Consequently, your employment with Tarrant County will end at the close of business on September 30, 2025."
The county’s current fiscal year — which budgeted about $4 million for the department — ends September 30. Tarrant County did not respond to an email asking how many employees would be affected, but the department had 25 employees under Lisa Martin, the director who retired in May, she told KERA News last week.
Now, Tarrant County is calling the layoff notice a miscommunication. KERA News obtained a follow-up email to Human Services employees on Monday — sent minutes after the initial publication of this story — apologizing for the memo.
“Upon review, it has come to our attention that the June 25th letter was issued in error and may have led to misunderstandings,” Tarrant County Human Resources Director Roxie Held wrote. “While staff have been actively exploring and discussing alternative proposals concerning the department's operations and structure, it is important to note that no final decisions have been made by the Tarrant County Commissioners Court.”
A Tarrant County spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment from KERA News, asking why employees were notified of their termination before any vote on eliminating their department.
“We recognize and regret the confusion this premature communication may have caused. Please accept our sincere apologies for the miscommunication,” Held wrote. “We will ensure that all future updates are communicated accurately and through appropriate channels.”
Democratic County Commissioner Alisa Simmons announced the layoffs in a TikTok posted June 22.
In the 2024 fiscal year, the Department of Human Services gave out 350 rent vouchers, almost 4,600 utility assistance vouchers, and 1,000 food and hygiene vouchers, according to county records.
The department's website was not accepting new requests for service as of Monday morning.
The county could provide financial aid services more effectively by partnering with local nonprofits, Republican Commissioner Manny Ramirez told KERA News last week.
“The expectation is that there will be zero service impact,” Ramirez said. “If anything, service will improve from shifting to this model.”
The cost of running the department outweighs the aid dollars the department gives out, he said. According to Ramirez, the county distributed about $1 million in aid in fiscal year 2024, with personnel costs of about $2.5 million.
Mary Almendarez, who helped lead the Department of Human Services until her retirement in 2014, said that’s not a fair comparison. Employees do more than disburse aid. They also work with clients to figure out if they're eligible and create case plans for them, she said.
“All that is not counted towards the amount of assistance that Tarrant County spends," she said. "All that time is reflected in personnel time, and I don’t believe Commissioner Ramirez is seeing that."
Nonprofits usually focus on a single region or population, so it will be hard to find a replacement for the countywide Department of Human Services, Almendarez said. To her, employees should have been given the chance to fix any problems commissioners have with the agency.
The Department of Human Services isn’t the only county agency facing layoffs this year. Tarrant County Public Health laid off 63 people after four programs lost federal grant funding.
This story has been updated with the email from Tarrant County Human Resources Director Roxie Held.
Got a tip? Email Miranda Suarez at msuarez@kera.org.
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