Harris County Commissioner Calls HART program an 'abysmal failure'

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - No "sugar-coating" from Harris County Commissioner Tom Ramsey when it comes to the performance of HART - short for Holistic Assistance Response Team - the non-law enforcement, contract aid-givers tasked with easing the burden on peace officers by deescalating folks in mental health crisis.

Harris County Commissioner Tom Ramsey calls HART program an "abysmal failure"

What we know:

 In the latest segment in a series of "deep dives" dubbed "Wasted Potential", Ramsey released hard data that's genuinely disturbing.

 The Harris County Public Health Department declined FOX 26's request for comment.

By the numbers:

For instance, of the more than 17,000 calls billed to taxpayers by HART,  only four percent involved a mental health issue and nearly half were initiated by HART responders, without a dispatch from authorities.

 And billing taxpayers every step of the way, to the tune of $6.6 million before the contract was canceled, with an average cost per call of $838 per call.

What they're saying:

"The numbers do matter, and the numbers on this one are it was an abysmal failure. There is a mental health crisis in Harris County, the problem is HART is not focused on it," said Ramsey. "It really sounds like they were riding around in a car looking for something to do, to document, justify, make it look like they were actually doing some good for the neighborhoods."

 "There is nothing in the data that you can look at and say that's a successful program," said Ramsey.

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What's next:

Despite the dismal performance of the California-based contractor DEMA, Democratic Commissioners in the majority appear committed to continuing the HART program under new management.