Public Safety CIO Talks Agency Transformation and Automation

The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) is undergoing a broad technology transformation that includes a shift toward managed services and expanded automation capabilities, according to agency CIO Jessica Ballew.

Ballew spoke at an Industry Insider — Texas member briefing on July 23, where she outlined her team’s priorities and encouraged vendors to align with the agency’s evolving delivery model and modernization road map.

Ballew, a 28-year veteran of DPS, said the agency is moving away from maintaining internal support teams for every system in favor of managed services contracts to free up and refocus DPS staff.

“We are in the middle of transitioning to a model of where we are more managed services,” Ballew said. “I want to be able to turnkey, have a vendor partner fully support those systems and then be able to take my folks … and provide them with the retooling to support more of the new tools we’re planning to bring in.”

That pivot supports a longer-term workforce strategy to train internal staff on high-value skills such as API development, low-code integration and business analysis. Ballew said the goal is to reduce the agency’s reliance on employees maintaining legacy applications while increasing its ability to manage vendor contracts and internal innovation.

The CIO said DPS received $97 million in new funding from the Legislature to support critical modernization work, including upgrades to law enforcement case management systems, cloud migration, data management, cybersecurity and disaster recovery infrastructure. But Ballew noted that the agency originally requested $225 million and is already planning for the next biennium to fund additional needs.

Among the future investments Ballew is eyeing is a new internal automation capability aimed at streamlining administrative workflows and improving customer-facing services.

“We want to start doing some automation for our customers,” she said. “Particularly in some of the administrative areas, where we can just see huge efficiency gains.”

The department is also prioritizing improvements to data quality and classification to enable more robust analytics and emerging AI use cases. Ballew emphasized that the agency is already using AI for specific functions, such as image classification in its Drawbridge system and routing calls in its contact center, but is cautious about applying the technology more broadly until data foundations are solid.

Internally, governance processes and compliance obligations remain top of mind. Ballew underscored that DPS must adhere to requirements such as TX-RAMP, and she urged vendors to understand the statutory landscape before pursuing opportunities.

“One of the things that still can be a real barrier to doing business … is companies that aren’t FedRAMP or TX-RAMP certified,” she said. “It’s a waste of your time and money to put in for something, and it’s a waste of state resources to go through a lengthy process to procure something that isn’t going to meet the minimum requirement.”

Ballew encouraged prospective partners to participate in conferences and events — such as the Government Technology Texas Digital Government Summit* — where agency leaders are present, rather than relying on unsolicited emails or cold calls.

She also advised vendors to bring specific, tailored use cases when approaching the department instead of asking DPS to determine applicability on the spot.

“Bring me examples of how other agencies have implemented something, what the outcome was. That’s so helpful,” Ballew said. “Then I can contribute to that conversation and help you out too.”

*Government Technology is a sister publication to Industry Insider — Texas, both are divisions of e.Republic.