Specific Pioneering Contributions
David Hogan, LMSW-S, has served as a forensic social worker in Dallas and its outlying communities for over forty years. In the context of this work, credit is due for his steadfast, determined, and successful efforts to improve the treatment of disenfranchised citizens.
Hogan currently serves as the Clinical Director of the Dallas County Deflection Center (DCDC). This program diverts individuals who have committed low-level misdemeanors and who have a substance use disorder and/or a mental illness from jail into a coordinated, multi-tiered treatment program. DCDC provides residential and outpatient treatment, housing qualification services, and casework follow-up. Hogan was instrumental in both the development and execution of this program.
DCDC may be seen as the culmination of Hogan's years of service to Dallas and the surrounding communities. His career began in 1978 when he joined the Dallas Police Department’s First Offender Program as a youth and family counselor. There, he provided direct services to adolescents and their parents. He also revised program curriculum materials to better align with social work values.
In 1985, Hogan transferred to the Dallas Police Social Services Unit, which served clients previously unable to access assistance due to frailty, lack of transportation, or physical and mental disabilities. With Hogan’s advocacy and management, the unit evolved into the Dallas Police Department (DPD) Crisis Intervention Unit. While in this role, Hogan was instrumental in developing programs to assist people with mental illnesses in accessing treatment and emergency housing. He trained caseworkers on the Mental Illness Warrant process, field safety precautions, and effective responses to disaster events. Additionally, he developed in-service mental health awareness training for police officers, assisted on calls involving high-risk mentally ill and suicidal clients, and worked with the DPD Criminal Intelligence Unit, U.S. Capitol Police, and U.S. Secret Service in managing high-risk mentally ill suspects.
Hogan has been involved in numerous initiatives and organizations, including:
• Serving on the Dallas Area Suicide and Crisis Center Advisory Board
• Creating the City of Dallas Boarding House Task Force
• Acting as Mental Health Liaison for the Dallas County Medical Reserve Corps
• Chairing two committees within the Coalition for the Mentally Ill
• Serving as liaison to the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance
• Serving as liaison to the Dallas Area Health and Human Services Coalition
• Participating in the DPD Community Support Coalition – Mental Health and Homeless Committees
Beginning with Hurricane Katrina and later during Hurricanes Rita, Gustav, Ike, and Harvey, Hogan led efforts to provide coordinated, unified, and effective mental health and substance abuse responses. Recognizing the importance of follow-up, he was involved in the Katrina Taskforce, which performed post-disaster needs assessments, crisis counseling, and housing maintenance for the large influx of evacuees arriving in Dallas.
In 2008, he created and led the first multidisciplinary City of Dallas Boarding Home Inspection Team. This team was formed to address safety issues, mental health needs, building code violations, and substandard living conditions.
In 2018, Hogan retired from the Dallas Police Department. He was subsequently appointed to the Dallas Metrocare Board of Trustees. In 2020, he was appointed Clinical Director of the Dallas County Deflection Center, as noted earlier in this section.
In recent years, Hogan has served as a consultant to police departments in surrounding communities, supporting their efforts to incorporate professional social workers into their services.
Career Highlights
Hogan has identified three major highlights from his career. The first was successfully persuading a suicidal man to come down safely from a highway overpass, after both police and fire personnel had been unable to do so. When the man asked who he was, Hogan simply replied, “I’m a social worker.” The man laughed and asked what he could possibly do, to which Hogan responded, “A lot more than these guys can.” With patience, conversation, and rapport, Hogan ultimately convinced him to step down unharmed.
A second highlight was Hogan’s leadership in coordinating a unified mental health and substance abuse response for the large number of evacuees who arrived in Dallas following Hurricane Katrina. Beginning when evacuees were housed in the Dallas Convention Center and continuing as they transitioned to assigned apartments, Hogan oversaw efforts that provided critical stability. As he noted, “Amazingly, this group did not become homeless, as the next year’s Homeless Count showed.”
Finally, Hogan considers his appointment as Clinical Director of the Dallas County Deflection Center to be a defining achievement, fulfilling his commitment to advancing social justice through criminal justice reform. As with many of his contributions, this initiative promises a lasting, positive impact on the citizens of Dallas County.
Biographic Information
Hogan was born in West Virginia in 1949. He received a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Marshall University in 1971. Upon graduation, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserve, serving as a Tank Platoon Leader. He earned a Master’s Degree in Counseling from Texas A&M University–Commerce in 1985.
In 1992, Hogan completed the Caruth Police Institute Leadership Series, a joint program of the University of North Texas and the Dallas Police Department.
Hogan's nearly fifty-year social work career has been in the specialty of forensic social work. He is a Licensed Clinical Social Work Supervisor. Hogan is married to a fellow social worker. They have three sons, one daughter, and two grandsons.
Significant Achievements and Awards
• 2006: Named Social Worker of the Year by the NASW Dallas Unit.
• 2018: Received the Lifetime Achievement Award in Social Work from the NASW Dallas Unit
• Recipient of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), Dallas Chapter – Professional of the Year
Award, for his work with the homeless mentally ill.
• Honored with the Dallas Mental Health Association Pamela Blumenthal Memorial Prism Award in 2006,
recognizing his long-term commitment to the care and service of persons with mental illness.
Significant Publications
Hogan has co-authored two peer-reviewed journal articles related to crisis mental health services during disasters:
• “Delivery of Mental Health Care in a Large Disaster Shelter,” Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness Journal, August 2015.
• “Needs Assessment of Hurricane Katrina Evacuees Residing Temporarily in Dallas,” Community Mental Health Journal, October 2015.