Harris County ACCESS Program at Center of Felony Charge

The former chief of Harris County Public Health has been charged in a multimillion-dollar bid-rigging scheme.

Barbie Robinson faces a felony charge of misuse of information, according to the office of the Harris County District Attorney.

Robinson was accused of giving private information to IBM officials about a county contract the company would later win.

Robinson was let go from her position in August after the Houston Chronicle reported on her department giving contracts to another company, DEMA Consulting and Management — a California for-profit company that she reportedly had ties to. Robinson came to the Harris County job from Sonoma County, Calif., where she was director of the county's Department of Health Services for four years.

Robinson is accused of sharing private information she received as a public official to help another person acquire a financial interest in a transaction, according to the Houston Chronicle. The allegations center around a program Robinson brought to Harris County called ACCESS (Accessing Coordinated Care and Empowering Self-Sufficiency).

A Texas Ranger allegedly found emails between Robinson's private email address and IBM officials about bringing the program from California to Harris County. In February of 2022, the Harris County Commissioners Court approved a $16 million contract for IBM to provide the technology for ACCESS to the county.

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