Since our investigation aired, three homeowners have received reimbursement checks through the county's Harvey recovery aid program.

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- The company in charge of outreach and application intake for Harris County's Hurricane Harvey recovery program was fired on Friday.Virginia-based ICF International was notified in a termination letter on Dec. 6 that it would no longer be needed for "disaster recovery program operations, support, intake and outreach services" for Harris County's Project Recovery program.The letter doesn't mention performance issues, instead citing a "convenience" clause in ICF's contract. ICF, which is a public company that is not a governmental agency, was hired by the county in February.Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said the county "did not see the sense of urgency or the results we needed to see by any means.""The programs they were working on were incredibly important recovery programs for folks who suffered during Hurricane Harvey who are waiting for support. Incredibly heartbreaking stories, and we couldn't afford to have a vendor that wasn't delivering," Hidalgo said.However, in a statement to 13 Investigates, ICF said it stands by its work. The company disagrees with how broadly the county characterizes its role within the program, saying that ICF is responsible for less than a third of the "multistep, complex process.""We understand that there are elements of the program - mostly outside of our limited scope - that could help things move faster for county residents. We worked diligently with the County to recommend those elements, but ultimately the County opted to move in their own direction instead," the company said in its statement. Read ICF's full statement at the end of the story.The firing comes after 13 Investigates reported two weeks ago that not a single homeowner had received aid from the county's $800 million program for Harvey storm victims."I wasted hundreds (of dollars) in gas money alone gathering and delivering documents to them," said Drew Gadd, who applied for aid earlier this year. "I feel let down really. ... People like me will lose everything."Gadd is among more than 5,700 homeowners who have either filled out pre-application surveys or have been invited to apply to the county's program.On Nov. 21, 13 Investigates reported that zero reimbursement checks were issued, zero homeowners had been helped by a buyout program and zero hammers were swinging to rebuild storm victims' homes. Yet, at that point, the county had already paid ICF $1.3 million.Since our investigation aired, three homeowners have received reimbursement checks through the county's program, including a North Shore resident in Northeast Harris County who received a $44,752 check. Another Northeast Harris County resident received a $21,992 check and a Spring resident received a $27,801 in reimbursements. No buyouts or repairs have started.The county recently hired nonprofit Baker Ripley as a second intake vendor, was brought on to help increase the volume of applications amid ICF's lack of progress.Last month, Daphne Lemelle, community development director at the Harris County Community Services Department, said ICF had only turned over 500 applications, all of which were incomplete."If we believe that their performance is not up to par, which is something we continue to review every month, every day, every week, we will let them know where they stand and that's why we had to bring on another intake vendor," Lemelle told 13 investigates last month.There's currently 10 intake centers, including five that are operated by Baker Ripley and five that were operated by ICF.The termination is effective Jan. 6, 2020, giving the company time to "ensure a smooth and timely transition of operations."As part of the termination letter, the county says it will retain all of the intake centers operated by ICF, in addition to retaining other services vital to the continuation of the program. That includes keeping outreach strategists on board as well as transitioning call center services.Harris County's program is separate from the Harvey recovery aid program operated by the City of Houston. However, the city also has an active contract with ICF for outreach and intake.In Houston, the city's latest pipeline report from November 29 shows 84 individuals have received aid from the city's Homeowner Assistance Program.Have a tip for Ted Oberg? A problem to solve? Get in touch with us on our tip page, or send a tip below. (On mobile? You can open our form by tapping here.)