A Fort Worth nonprofit will replace Tarrant County’s rental and utility assistance department, which commissioners voted to close this summer.
Tarrant County commissioners unanimously approved a $2.3 million contract Tuesday with Center for Transforming Lives, a nonprofit that works to help people climb out of poverty.
This is a natural extension of what the Center already does, CEO Carol Klocek told KERA News. It works with families experiencing homelessness, and it administered rental assistance during COVID.
"The long experience that we have with our homeless families, and then that during that COVID period, really gave us the confidence that we could accept applications, screen families quickly, get the rent assistance in the hands of the people who need it," Klocek said.
The Center’s program will offer case management and one to three months of emergency aid to people facing eviction, utility disconnection and homelessness, according to a press release. The Center plans to assist about 2,000 families from now until the end of the contract next year, and the contract will be eligible for renewal.
With its connections across the county, the Center will have no problem meeting its goal, Klocek said.
“I mean, we get about ten to fifteen phone calls a day from families already asking for housing assistance,” she said.
The Tarrant County Department of Human Services was leaving aid money unspent, according to county budget chief Helen Giese. Proponents of the closure said partnering with an outside nonprofit would save the county money and get more help to people who need it.
Critics wondered why the department was not given a chance to improve, and they questioned whether the county could find a suitable replacement.
People who are already working with the Department of Human Services will get a letter notifying them of the change, Acting Director Rand Otten told commissioners Tuesday.
The new program will budget about $2 million for rental and utility assistance, with the rest going to administrative costs like salaries, the contract with the county shows.
The Department of Human Services cost $2.5 million to run and spent about $1 million in county funding for direct aid in fiscal year 2024, according to the county.
The closure of the department, scheduled for January, means eliminating two dozen county jobs. Tarrant County told employees they were getting laid off before commissioners even voted to close the department, which the human resources department later said was a mistake.
The Center plans to accept applications for aid starting Nov. 1.
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