“ONCE UPON A TIME…I WAS…. Posting all the states’ (and some major cities’) CAFRs at my other blog Cold,HardFact$.

[Scroll down, links on the sidebar under “FIND A State CAFR,” I attempted to locate the CAFR for the City of Baltimore (not just State of Maryland) CAFR for 2011. So far I haven’t, but while looking but did find a good selection of some of the various government enterprises under the City Government simply by running across a Department of Audits “Recently Issued Audits” Site.

Two of them caught my eye by simply having long titles and strange wording, like “Baltimore Rising.”  After enough years of this, instinct counts, and my instinct said look further.  First of all, it shouldn’t be hard to find a city’s current CAFRs, and on this Recent Audits, for some reason they’d been led to audit their own comprehensive annual financial reports. Then I found THIS audit (see post title) of an HHS three-year grant which began in the Mayor’s Office of Children, Youth and Families.  “MOCYF”

This link has to be read through to be believed, though I put some summaries below (it’s a very short report, actually).

 PERFORMANCE AUDIT REPORT – MENTORING CHILDREN OF INCARCERATED PARENTS GRANT 90CV0215

AWARDED TO THE MAYOR’s OFFICE FOR CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILIES

(BALTIMORE RISING, INC.) FROM THE US DEPT. OF HHS:  FOLLOW-UP REVIEW MAY, 2010 

[Note — that’s not what HHS called it, but simply “Baltimore City Mayor’s Office.” not “Mayor’s Office of Children Youth and Families”]

(click on the Grantee Name link in chart below, for what else it’s into.Of interest:  This first grant was 8/19/2004.  On 6/30/2004, it got $994,100 for “interim methadone treatment.”  On 8/19/2004, it got this grant. on 9/17/2004 (one month later) the $994,100 grant was removed from HHS records….). etc. From “TAGGS.hhs.gov”  Note they didn’t even bother to “name” the grant, it simply adopted the CFDA-assigned name, which is identical.

  THIS IS FOR THE AUDITED GRANT (but didn’t pass), 90CV0215

[[2013 December archives around Christmastime post clean-up and re-ran the 90CV grants), since referenced this; my html smarts weren’t so hot at this time]]

Right away — why switch DUNS#s mid-stream?  Also the “**” may be by “Baltimore City” I later learned, because Baltimore does not fall under any county – it is separate from “Baltimore County.”  The topic there was the UBaltimore School of law:

It is clear this grantee switched DUNS# in a certain year (2007) and that the larger and bulk of grants center around drug treatment and incarceration issues, for example:

(I just did a run of this category of “mentoring children of prisoners/CFDA 93616” in Maryland — there are 57 grants altogether, many of them in Baltimore.  Interesting).. After reading the audits below and looking up this grant, I decided to look up Principal Investigator Ms. Ariano.  Apparently she administered this grant.  However the City of Baltimore CPA said, in essence, questions the entire viability of the $900,000 federal grant, based on lousy administration of it.  So naturally I was curious about the principal investigator. On the web, a pretty thorough Speakers Bio on-line shows that the negative audit didn’t exactly slow her down much — she’s now in charge of the Jericho Project under Episcopal Services, as of about May 2007.   (approaching the end of this grant, by which time it was probably under scrutiny for misappropriation). She’s hanging with “Faith-Based” organizations, and has a background in helping vulnerable populations (by overseeing the theft of federal grants??).  Hate to say this, but I’ve been telling us to watch out for that category in particular! (the image is the link)

Bonnie Ariano

Director of The Jericho Program Bonnie Ariano currently serves as the Director of The Jericho Program, which is a non-profit ex-offender re-entry program under the auspices of Episcopal Community Services of Maryland. In this capacity, Ms. Ariano supervises a staff of nine, which include three Case Managers, two Job Developers, a Recruitment Specialist and a Training and Mentoring Coordinator and is responsible for monitoring the Federal Prisoner Re-entry Initiative grant which supports the Jericho program model of job readiness training, skills assessment and job placement. It is a true second chance for most of the participants and they continue to receive assistance and support throughout their year of enrollment. Ms. Ariano began in this position in May 2007, bringing with her over 32 years of experience in the human service field, 25 of which were in the non-profit sector.

Added 2013:  I see I didn’t look up the corporation status of “Episcopal Community Services of Maryland,” so here is that lookup:

Interesting, it was incorporated in 1939, right before WWII (well, in 1939) and not long after religious groups were granted special exceptions under the IRS.  Street address 1014 West 36th Street is now labeled “REBUILDING TOGETHER BALTIMORE” A NATIONAL GROUP, FORMERLY CALLED “CHRISTMAS IN APRIL.”

Rebuilding Together

The Baltimore affiliate was founded in 1989 as Christmas in April Baltimore. Since then, more than 20,000 volunteers have repaired 1,070 homes, 29 non-profit facilities, completed dozens of community projects, and..

…In 1988, with the help of Steve Winchell, John McMeel and Bobby Trimble, a national program, Christmas in April, USA, was formed to help spread the program throughout the United States. Patty Johnson, former Executive Director of the Washington, D.C. program, was hired as the first Executive Director for Christmas in April, USA. Thirteen cities were involved that first year.

Christmas in April  Baltimore was founded in 1989 by Joanna von Briesen, Howard Hunt, Thomas Jaudon, and Geoffrey Krug. Since its first Rebuilding Day in 1990, the Baltimore affiliate has organized more than 19,400 volunteers to perform repairs valued at over $6.1 million on more than 966 homes in Baltimore City and Baltimore County, Maryland.

From those early days, the idea has spread to include more than 235 local affiliates in communities from all 50 states. The work of more than 2,700,000 volunteers, in over 1,880 cities and towns throughout America, has resulted in the repair and rehabilitation of more than 105,000 houses and non-profit facilities involving more than 27,000,000 volunteer hours.

Rebuilding Together is now the largest volunteer organization preserving and revitalizing low-income houses and communities in the nation.

WHAT A WONDERFUL IDEA.  TOO BAD, HOWEVER, EPISCOPAL COMMUNITY SERVICES (SAME ADDRESS) HIRED OR ACCEPTED A WOMAN WHO WAS KNOWN, FROM A 2009 AUDIT — TO HAVE PRESIDED OVER (OR BEEN P.I. FOR) THE DISGRACEFUL THEFT OF NEARLY $1,000,000 OF HHS FUNDING, and a duplicate vendor receipt of $25,000, etc.

The umbrella organization was registered (in MD, at least) only in spring 2013) and is a stock corp. (not a nonprofit?).  Maryland shows many, named by county, within the state.

It was formed in 1989, NON-Stock, at the same address, with the name-change from “Christmas-in-April-Baltimore” happening in 2001, and (see pdf)  The former street address (600 Baltimore Avenue #205, TOWSON, MD) is now home to a Title Company.  I’m wondering if this Ron Deutsch is any relationship to THIS Robin Deutsch (also prominent AFCC leadership, Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology, etc.), Although I guess Maryland isn’t close enough to Massachusetts..

Massachusetts links right TO “AFCC” on their state site:  http://www.mass.gov/courts/courtsandjudges/courts/probateandfamilycourt/afccsharedparenting.pdf

[[These later lookups after I became more aware of how many HHS-grantee programs are run right out of church addresses, which can get complicated when it comes to tracking the finances).

Here are 501(c)3’s with the word “EPISCOPAL” in them, listed in Baltimore; those for which contributions are tax-deductibel anyhow, as you can see some are “Services” and some relate to Housing, and one is the convention.

EIN	Legal Name (Doing Business As)	City	State	Country	Deductibility Status
52-1686012	Christian Vocation Project of Memorial Episcopal Church Inc.	Baltimore	MD	United States	PC
52-0591545	Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church of Diocese of Md	Baltimore	MD	United States	GROUP
52-0591564	Episcopal Community Services of Maryland Inc.	Baltimore	MD	United States	PC
20-3499496	Episcopal Housing Community Development Corporation	Baltimore	MD	United States	PC
52-1939344	Episcopal Housing Corporation	Baltimore	MD	United States	PC
23-7439344	Waters Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church in the City of Ba	Baltimore	MD	United States	PC

This has the same man signing the tax return and the same street address as the one below, with program purpose:

“Episcopal Housing Corporation missioni s to respond to God’s call to establish justice for those most in need by building affordable housing and creating the foundations for healthy and sustainable communities.”

= = = = = =

**EHC is weird — (I just looked at three tax returns), they received program service income including government contracts of about $20K to $30K/year, have NO activity and NO contributions, the forms are scrabbledy.  yet their assets base is going up.  Finally one said:

•Episcopal Housing Community Development Corporation 20-3499496

990EZ Line 26; Episcopal_Housinq Community_Development Corporation has reciev_ed a loan to-acquire and renovate 3401 OakfleldAve._  Baltimore,_MD 21207 and operate the proPerty as affordable housing per our mission statement and organizational documents’

The street address looks like St. Mary’s Episcopal – Parrish House and I see a few more (probably 501(c)3s) in operation out of the same place.

• http://hampdenfamilycenter.org/resources.shtml   (see A.I.M. — “Action in Maturity” 3900 Roland Avenue.

• The third church building was built in 1873 and still stands today. The parish was decommissioned in 2002 and the building was turned into an outreach center for the Hampden community. In 1964 the congregation tore down its rectory, which stood just south of the 1873 church, and the Roland towers assisted living complex was erected. The chapel at the northern boundary of the parcel is still standing but is vacant. The building was previously occupied by a separate congregation.

  The Victorian graveyard is one of a few remaining in the city that is still physically connected to the church of its origin. Founded around the same time as the episcopal parish, Saint Mary’s Cemetery has graves dating back to the late 19th Century. The park is open from from dawn until dusk and is worth visiting for the view alone. A tour of Hampden is not complete without a trip to Saint Mary’s.

• Here is some of the history:

ANYHOW, ENOUGH OF THAT.  THERE’S NO KNOWN CONNECTION BETWEEN THOSE HOUSING CORPORATIONS AND EPISCOPAL COMMUNITY SERVICES; I was just browsing….

Where the money is, esp. if it can get hooked up with government…. More, on Ms. Ariano and the conference she was attending, at the bottom of this post…..

Overview

Episcopal Community Services of Maryland is a faith-based organization that serves homeless children, lower-income youth and formerly incarcerated men.

Its EIN# per IRS Select Exempt Check (run 12-27-2013), and another nonprofit at the same site, which I’m betting is probably also an Episcopal Church.

Tax Returns:

The tax return says they were incorporated in 1927 (Maryland records say 1939)….

Charitable Purpose (yr 2012), “Guided by Faith and our Commitment to Social Justice, and in Collaboration with Others..strives to address the injustice of severe poverty, which is embedded in communities and disempowers individuals.”

While all their programs are directed at education (see return) the Jericho program shows expenses of over $1 million and is limited to MEN for re-entry skills services:

JERICHO IS A ONE-YEAR REENTRY PROGRAM FORMERLY-INCARCERATED MEN, BETWEEN THE AGES OF 18 AND 65, PER YEAR. CLIENTS ARE PRIMARILY FROM EAST BALTIMORE. CLIENTS ENROLL IN JERICHO EITHER “BEHIND-THE-FENCE” PRIOR TO RELEASE, ARE REFERRED BY PAROLE OR TRANSITION COORDINATORS, OR FIND THE PROGRAM THROUGH WORD OF MOUTH AND/OR LOCAL ONE-STOP REENTRY SERVICES. CLIENTS ATTEND A TWO-WEEK EMPLOYMENT READINESS TRAINING SESSION THAT HELPS PREPARE THEM FOR EMPLOYMENT THROUGH JOB DEVELOPMENT SKILLS, SKILLS AND NEEDS ASSESSMENTS, EDUCATION EVALUATIONS, AND INTERPERSONAL SKILL DEVELOPMENT. CLIENTS LEARN HOW TO WRITE A RESUME, HOW TO SEARCH FOR JOBS ONLINE, AND SET UP AN EMAIL ADDRESS. CLIENTS ARE EXPECTED TO BE ON TIME AND FOLLOW A DRESS CODE.

Looking at other pages, approximately 1/4 of revenues seem to come from government grants ($536K).  They hold about $1 million invested in public securities.   They are depreciating land and real estate of about $600K (see street address).

However, in the year 2009, it shows $1.8 million in “government grants.”

Link to its 2009 tax return showing same address (it later moved).  This seems like a much more legitimate corporation, and simpler tax filing.

Interesting list of clientele — two generic nouns (children, youth) and one gender-specific (men). Its board (that’s a link above) powerful and interesting, partic. recent additions.  Exec. Director @ 2004 (Jean Patterson Cushman) has connections to Bush administration and instrumental in writing the first “DOL Prisoner Reentry Initiative” funding request.

ECSM was established in 1927 as the Church Mission of Help. From its original purpose of providing adoption services, ECSM has grown in size and expanded its mission to address urgent social issues in Baltimore City.

http://www.ecsm.org/programs/jericho.php http://archive.episcopalchurch.org/jubilee/109342_99959_ENG_HTM.htm

Jericho Reentry Program

Jericho is a workforce development program that assists previously incarcerated men who have recently been released reestablish themselves in their communities. Over the last six years Jericho has been funded through a number of federal, state, and local grants. Those awards have enabled Jericho to develop a successful track record of working with this population.

MOCYF/BALTIMORE RISING, INC. even after being caught and audited, they don’t straighten up and fly right, for the most part.  I posted both audits and looked up some of the organizations mentioned as problems, in this post.  As usual, they are getting grants, and failing to stay incorporated, but moving fast enough for only the diligent and trained in this marathon to actually keep up.   One (or more) of the  groups I’d already run across in this blog.  Baltimore seems to be a key city in the subject matter of this post.  Besides the personnel at UBaltimore School of Law pushing Unified Family Courts and Therapeutic Jurisprudence (as a national model) and technically training and supporting that — there’s the matter of Maryland being a very pro-AFCC state (Unbelievably so), plus an oh-so-tempting inner city population to test out programs on. It has also been brought under scrutiny for very bad dealings with child support collections, and oh so interested in demonstration projects. (search “Baltimore” on my earlier post) in which federal money to enforce child support is waived to try out theories on what will enforce it better.  But then again, child support enforcement is no longer about child support enforcement, but about more emotionally engaging fathers (partic. ones who have been in prison) in more involvement with their kids.

DEMO PROJECTS (VIEW/ZOOM

All of these are CFDA 93601, “Child Support Enforcement Demonstrations and Special Projects” which columns I removed to fit within the blog margins (12/27/2013)

Inevitable consequence of focusing  year after yeamore on demonstration projects which often trade compromising child support arrears (COAP programs)   for fatherhood program participation for men, than on the primary task of the child support enforcement agency,:

September 15, 2011|By Mary Gail Hare, The Baltimore Sun

A state audit released this week found that the agency responsible for child support failed to collect more than $1.7 billion over three years, largely because of insufficient enforcement against non-custodial parents who fell behind on their payments.  The Office of Legislative Audits reported that more than 165,000 parents missed payments and faulted the Child Support Enforcement Administration for failing to use all the collection tools it had at its disposal.

“The audit makes clear that we were not making the best use of the tools we have,” said Ian Patrick Hines, spokesman for the Maryland Department of Human Resources, which oversees the administration. “We are now shifting gears and tightening up.” Hines said the agency has already strengthened its policy for seizing money from bank accounts. The audit said the agency failed to garnish the savings and checking bank accounts of more than 25,000 non-custodial parents whose arrears amounted to $33.6 million. The agency often waited until a parent owed more than $2,500 before it acted, the audit said. State law allows seizure of checking or savings funds if a parent owes more than $500 in child support and has not paid for more than 60 days.

CSEA will now act when the amount owed reaches $500, he said. An automated process, put in place this year to garnish bank accounts, has already increased collections by $1.4 million. “We agree with the findings, which have been informative for us,” Hines said. The agency could have withheld wages from nearly 9,000 more parents who were about $88 million in arrears at the end of September last year, {{2010}} according to the audit. It also did not review information from all of the state’s professional licensing boards — such as the Maryland Insurance Administration. Such checks could have helped in the collection of another $47 million, the audit said.

“For most of the report, we are looking at how to improve enforcement and increase collections,” said Bruce A. Myers, legislative auditor. “If you can do something a little better, you can have a tremendous impact.” CSEA has also avoided a $2 million federal fine by increasing to 89 percent the proportion of cases in which it investigates and verifies paternity. The Baltimore-based agency, with an annual budget of $42 million, oversees local offices throughout the state. Auditors recommended that CSEA ensure all its local offices perform sufficient, timely reviews of delinquent cases. The audit uncovered a few cases in which payments continued after the death of the custodial parent, and said the local offices should do more to ensure sure payments are going to the right person…

This link has to be read through to be believed, though I put some summaries below (it’s a very short report, actually).

 PERFORMANCE AUDIT REPORT

MENTORING CHILDREN OF INCARCERATED PARENTS

GRANT 90CV0215

AWARDED TO THE MAYOR’s OFFICE FOR CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILIES

(BALTIMORE RISING, INC.)

FROM THE US DEPT. OF HHS

FOLLOW-UP REVIEW MAY, 2010 

This is unbelievable, just read it and short enough.  It also signifies that after the grants are doled out, almost anything goes.

The first one, and its foreword:

The Department of Audits conducted an audit of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Mentoring Children of Incarcerated Parents (MCIP) program with the Mayor’s Office for Children, Youth and Families (MOCYF) for the period July 30, 2004 through December 31, 2007. In August 2007, the MOCYF began operating as Baltimore Rising, Inc. (BRI), however MOCYF was the entity used on the submitted financial reports.

{{that sounds a little dishonest…}}

In May 2007, the Inspector General for Baltimore City wrote to the Inspector General for HHS expressing concern for the amounts expended by the City for the MCIP program.

If you look through my Vital Info/Links below, there’s plenty of indicator that the HHS/OIG (Office of Inspector General)/OAS (office of audit services) isn’t keeping up with things, or auditing that often.  When it does audit, it doesn’t typically have the teeth to force any changes anyhow.  This statements sounds like the City of Baltimore said to HHS (IG), we’re a little concerned about this program, and then the federal HHS? said — well, then go audit it….

As a result of this communication, Audits was requested [by HHS or by Baltimore?] to perform an audit of the MCIP program.  The purpose of our audit was to determine whether the financial reports were complete, accurate, and properly supported by the City’s underlying accounting records and other supporting documentation.

And here, in short form, are their findings: I added the “<>” for an item count..

Our audit revealed that reported <>grant expenditures did not agree with the City’s accounting records; <>cash management procedures related to Federal reimbursements were deficient; <> supporting documentation for reported grant expenditures and in-kind documentation was not sufficient; <>expenditures for consultant costs were made without written contractual agreements, adequate documentation, and/or Board of Estimates approval; and <>Board of Estimates’  approval was not obtained for the second and third years of the grant award period. We have concluded, based on the amount of unsupported expenditures, including the required in-kind matching contributions, and the significant deficiencies related to the operation of the program, that the entire grant amount of $900,000 received by MOCYF for the MCIP program for the July 30, 2004 through December 31, 2007 grant period is being questioned.  The questioned costs, totaling $900,000, are subject to be returned to HHS, pending the federal agency’s ultimate resolution of the audit findings. We recommend, in general, that MOCYF develop specific written policies and procedures related to the administration of the program, including grant management, financial reporting, purchases, expenditure documentation, the federal reimbursement process, matching requirements and Board of Estimates’ approval requirements.  We also recommend that MOCYF request that the Department of Finance assist with the establishment of appropriate accounting procedures. BRI has concurred with our findings and recommendations, and its response to our findings is included as an appendix to our report.

Maryland filings of this nonprofit BRI show it dissolved.  Why doesn’t that surprise me, given the track record?

(search at) Maryland Dept. of Assessments and Taxation

It also mentions nothing about being a nonprofit:

Principal Office (Current): 3939 REISTERSTOWN ROAD SUITE 268 BALTIMORE, MD 21215 Resident Agent (Current): SALIMA SILER MARRIOTT 4515 HOMER AVENUE BALTIMORE, MD 21215 Status: DISSOLVED Good Standing: No      What does it mean when a business is not in good standing or forfeited? Business Code: Ordinary Business – Non-stock Date of Formation or Registration: 05/30/2007 State of Formation: MD Stock/Nonstock: Non-Stock Close/Not Close: Not Close

This organization was “not in good standing” by March, 2010. It was formed with the registered agent being an HHS employee, never (ever) filed an annual report (so it was “not in good standing” from 2008ff apparently) and probably never intended to– which was probably why the Mayors’ office continued to submit bills under MOCYF and not BRI..

	Page 1 of 1
	Description Date Filed Time Film Folio Pages View Document Order Copies ARTICLES OF DISSOLUTION 05/19/2011 09:41-AM 0004 RESOLUTION 03/26/2010 03:12-PM 0002 ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION 05/30/2007 12:26-PM B01119 1215 0003

Detail from “articles of incorporation,” it was formed by Ross N. Ford of this MOCYF** and Salima Siler Marriott and they assigned 3 directors til the first meeting:  Ms. Marriott, Maurice Jeter, MD, and Diana Anim.    Its purpose:  “To provide human development and family-strengthening services for residents of Baltimore with identified needs.” **Mr. Ford’s background is significant, and has been linked to, i.e., “Family-Strengthening,”

Our goals are as follows:

• Maintain respect for family hierarchy.
• Allow the family hierarchy to extend its effectiveness.
• Achieve desired outcomes for every family member.

These goals are possible by the achievement of optimal communication effectiveness.

(top address is entity address, which (see link) appears to be the City Courthouse and the other one, City Hall.  Also found (Ste. 900) for a Prisoner Rights Information System of MD in a 2012-13 Correctional Reform Section Council (but this leads to a broken link also, for the organization).

(for comparison): Joseph Bernard Tetrault Term: 7/1/2004 – 6/30/2014 Prisoner Rights Infor System of MD 1 Calvert Plz 201 E Baltimore St Ste 900 Baltimore, MD 21202-1528 P: (410) 528-1400 F: (410) 528-1550 jtetrault@prisminc.org To summarize the “Baltimore Rising” three lines of corporate identities above (two of which are LLCs): On 03/10/2004. a “Barbara K. Weeks” formed the first LLC, residing at 102 MIDHURST ROAD BALTIMORE, MD 21212 (=your basic [3,350sf, that is]  home); a one-person LLC (cost, $192) for purposes clearly related to real estate, space. etc.  Its status is “pending” still (go figure, this is 2012)  maybe related, maybe not. ***On 8/19/2004 the MOYCF got its first 90CV0215 grant (see TAGGS, above) for $300K. By August?-2007 the Mayors’ Office of CYF finances were being questioned in re this grant.  However in May 2007, someone quickly formed “Baltimore Rising, Inc.” which is allegedly a nonprofit, but whose incorporation doesn’t say so. It never (that I can see) filed a single annual report (as most states require to retain incorporation), by 2010 was not in good status and on 5/19/2011 BRI decided to dissolve itself (I think that’s what “dissolved” means — it doesn’t say “forfeited.”  Or, whatever). And (simultaneous) on 6/29/2011 someone (else) formed “Baltimore Rising I, LLC,” completely with a location move about a month later, to outside of Its website is still up claiming to be a going 501(c)3 in this business, and they love doing good deeds:

In August 2007, Baltimore Rising, Inc. (BRI) transitioned from the Mayor’s Office of Children, Youth and Families and became a 501C-3 quasi-city governmental agency under Community and Human Development.   BRI is committed to bringing together caring adult with children who want or need a mentor, the promotion of the integration of family strengthening as an essential element of service delivery for children, youth and families, and the re-entry of returning offenders in their families, and the community, fulfilling adult responsibilities. “…Baltimore Rising, Inc. (BRI) formerly known as [[HUH??]]the Mayor’s Office of Children, Youth and Families transitioned in August 2007 into a 501C3 quasi governmental agency. ” Under the Baltimore City’s Mayor’s Administration, BRI was charged with bringing together providers/partners of the religious community, social service providers, governmental agencies, volunteers, parents, private and other nonprofit organizations, and other citizens for the purpose of waging a strong and aggressive campaign to significantly reduce youth crime and violence in the City of Baltimore.

 Link to the full 2009 audit covering July 2004-Dec. 31, 2007

• HONESTY they over-reported Expenses for two years (by ca. $35K), then under reported (by ca. $66K) the third year, for a net UNDER-reporting of $31K.  In other words, the group’s vs. the City’s records.  {{look at the chart on the link…}}
• Cash Management— failing to get reimbursement from HHS, went about like this:
  • “However, we found that MOCYF requested reimbursement of MCIP expenditures for only $648,897 of the $887,695 total expenditures accumulated in the City’s accounting records as of December 31, 2007.
  • As a result of our audit, MOCYF requested and later received the authorized grant award balance of $251,103 from HHS, thereby obtaining the entire $900,000 awarded. The $251,103 amount was received in September 2008, twenty-one months from the time of the previous reimbursement received by MOCYF in December 2006. Untimely reimbursement requests place an undue burden on City’s resources until the reimbursement is received.

Sounds to me like without the audit they’d have just stuck the City with the bill for $251K.   And this is from the Mayor’s Office! (of CYF).

• In-kind contributions, it looks like they over-reported to HHS by $20,032 compared to recorded expenses, etc.  (would that be a kickback???)….
• CONSULTANT PAYMENTS (seems like this problem crops up in a lot of cities)

What would you think of a program a sampling of invoices and payments (i.e., connecting the dots)resulted in findings like this — and that appears to be just a sample:   ??

During the July 30, 2004 through December 31, 2007 grant period, we determined that there were 30 individual consultants that received payments ranging from $175 to $1,000, and totaling $248,000. The following demonstrate deficiencies related to these consultant costs:

That’s a very interesting figure, because there was (see above) $251K that the group didn’t request reimbursement for from HHS until prompted to by a 2008-initiated audit.  Hmmm… Maybe this also relates to the slowness in submitting reimbursements to HHS and letting the City pay it instead (maybe).

 Payments to consultants require Board of Estimates’ (BOE) approval (see Finding #6 for the Board of Estimates’ approval process). In Year 2, a consultant was paid $30,225 (in $775 increments) and an additional $23,175 in Year 3 (increments increased to $800 in February 2007) without an approved contract agreement. Also, the invoice forms appeared to be copies of previous invoices, with the invoice date changed. Additionally, the submitted invoices were vague regarding the services provided to the program, i.e., invoice descriptions simply indicated “Data Management”.  In Year 3, another consultant was paid $4,000 based on invoices which merely stated “Support Services”, and also appeared to be copies of previous invoices. Again, there was not an approved contract agreement for this consultant.  Our test of transactions also included three other vouchers from Years 1 and 2 with invoices from two vendors totaling $3,200 that only stated “Providing Support” as documentation.  Individual consultant payments were often paid on one check, but were comprised of more than one Direct Payment Order (DPO). These DPO’s were for amounts less than $1,000, which when combined, resulted in check amounts greater than $1,000. Such procedures are contrary to the rules related to vendor payments in the City’s Administrative Manual (AM 303-1). AM-303-1, which addresses Direct Payment Orders, states that DPO’s were to be used for purchases up to $1,000 of a non-recurring nature. Additionally, DPO’s were not to be used for professional services (consultant) contracts.  Other than the items specifically identified above, the remaining individual consultants were paid $187,400 without contracts and often with invoices that were not sufficiently descriptive of the services provided, and appeared to be copies of previous invoices except for the invoice dates.  The transactions test also included eight vouchers with invoices that were prepared by MOCYF for the vendors rather than by the vendors themselves. We also observed that there were numerous additional vendor payments based on invoices created by MOCYF.

• Other Unallowable Payments to (and through) a nonprofit, duplicate vendor payment to “Urban Leadership Institute,” (to be looked up, ya’ bet!!), and etc. ULI doesn’t want to give it back.  Sounds like some people I know, when caught in this….

Expenditures for other costs were made that were not properly supported or were unallowable in accordance with Federal regulations. Additionally, duplicate payments were made and MOCYF has not sought recovery of these grant funds. The following provides the result of our testing:  In Program Year 1, the program gave a $500 donation to a prison association, which was a non-profit entity. OMB Circular A-87, states that contributions and donations, including cash, property, and services, that use grant funds and made by grant recipients to others, regardless of the recipient, are unallowable.  In Program Year 3, two payments amounting to $113,212 were made to the Baltimore City Foundation, Inc. (BCF). In August 2007, MOCYF began sending payments through the BCF to Baltimore Rising, Inc. However, there was not sufficient documentation provided to support the specific expenses related to these two payments.

Baltimore City Foundation, or Baltimore City Foundation, Inc.?  Because a Blogger apparently has said (and the Baltimore SUN investigated) that this foundation is probably being used for a slush fund with no oversight — both the City and the Foundation are disclaiming responsibility.  What’s worse, they say records before 2002 were destroyed (cute…. the group’s been around since 1980?) and they’re quoting a judge on these matters.  (This “quote within a quote” is marked by different background color…) Here’s a brief instructional page FROM this fundation, I think  you can see about how lax it is.

“Misuse of the Baltimore City Foundation “

From “CityEthics” (itself a nonprofit formed in 2000, see “about us;” all 3 former attorneys) Update: November 11, 2009 (see below) Is there any worse way to skirt government ethics rules and misuse public money and position than via a charitable organization? And yet it happens again and again. This time it happened in Baltimore, according to the results of an extensive investigation by the Baltimore Sun. The Baltimore City Foundation, with over $7 million in its hands, was founded in 1981 “to raise money, primarily to benefit city programs for the underprivileged … projects such as a summer jobs program for youths, funeral expenses for homicide victims and home smoke alarms for the needy.” It raises money from local individuals and companies, as well as from foundations such as the Open Society Institute and, in least in one instance, from the state of Maryland. Before I tell you what happened to some of the money, I want to discuss the foundation’s oversight and transparency practices. The president of the foundation “insists that it is the city agencies’ responsibility, rather than his or the board’s, to ensure that the foundation money is spent in keeping with its nonprofit status. When he receives a request from City Hall to sign a check, it is not his job to challenge it, he said.” The board has to approve an agency setting up a foundation account, but after that, “the agency raises and spends money at its own discretion.” One board member said, “It’s [the city departments’] money. All we are is a fiduciary holding it for them until it is disbursed.” In other words, the board considers the foundation an extension of the city and therefore provides no oversight. The lack of oversight also applies to the city itself. “The annual financial report for the city of Baltimore lists the City Foundation among several groups for which the city claims no financial accountability ‘beyond making appointments.‘” In other words, each department or agency can use the foundation as it pleases, without being accountable to anyone. Second, they can do it without anyone knowing. “The city keeps the books, and the foundation president (a long-time city employee) told the Sun he could not provide a breakdown of contributions because it would take too much time for the city clerk who does the foundation’s books (nearly all foundation work is done by city employees on city time). So the foundation has become a secret slush fund for the few people who do know about it:  city officials. Here are three examples of how the foundation has been cleverly misused, according to the Sun. . . . . The article quotes a city Circuit Court judge, who has been a member of the Baltimore City Foundation board for two decades, as saying that any potential problems with the foundation are outweighed by “innumerable examples where it has allowed government and nonprofits to do some important things.” Does that mean the judge approves of employees skimming 10% off the top of charitable donations, because 90% of the money goes to a good cause? Not an argument that would hold up in court. {{Apparently a rule-change in 2004 — see start of this grant we’re discussing — allowed exemptions to city employees soliciting private donations from city contractors, “if it was for a good cause” (apparently).During the next 5 years, the City didn’t issue any regulations around the practice….}}

HE SEEMS TO HAVE A POINT THERE… ANOTHER ARTICLE ON THE MATTER.  MAKE SURE TO CLICK ON THE 5 (green rectangle) hyperlinks on the graphic which map out 5 apparently slush fund operations;one involving Baltimore Rising ($600 only, but for tickets to the Mayor’s inaugural event!), and another involving the COURTS $1.9 million of state funds steered here, which then generated $86,000 interest specifically for one project (nb:  A judge sat on the board of this foundation) . . . .

Baltimore ethics board to provide ‘guidance’ on gifts

No decision yet on whether to investigate Baltimore City Foundation

BACK TO THE AUDIT OF 2009 ON BALTIMORE RISING, AND THIS PARTICULAR HHS GRANT:

 Also in Program Year 3, expenditures of $25,000 were paid twice. Based on a Board of Estimates approved agreement, the Urban Leadership Institute (ULI) was paid $25,000 on August 21, 2006 (check #753069) for the period January 1, 2006 through June 30, 2007. Four months later, on December 14, 2006 and January 25, 2007, ULI was paid $17,000 (check #782356) and $8,000 (check #791803), respectively, totaling $25,000, for the same agreement. To date, MOCYF has not attempted to recover the duplicate payment from ULI.

OK (finally got around to looking up this Urban Leadership Institute) — I have been here (looking up this street address) before, on this blog.  I think it was one of many names at an address that I just didn’t get around to following up on.

1111 Park Ave, Suite L-151, Baltimore, MD 21201 (hover for description, you can see they are pulling from DCYF funds in more than one state) Their Products Page. From the Events Page: Fathers Incorporated 2nd Annual Image Awards Dinner Location: Medgar Evers College on Brooklyn, New York Honorees include: Stephen Powell (Mentoring USA), Allan Houston (Father Knows Best), David Miller (Raising Him Alone), Rev. Dr. Emma Jordan-Simpson (Children’s Defense Fund-New York), Shawn Dove (Open Society Foundations) and Chris Broussard and Malik Carey (K.I.N.G.) and the Sesame Street Workshop. For more information: Please visitwww.eventbee.com/v/2012tiesneverbroken

That’s apparently a book he’s selling, but as I recall it was also the name of a nonprofit?  Mr. Miller calls himself “CVO” which stands for “CHIEF VISIONARY OFFICER.” and “warrior,” etc.  He even has the chutzpah to have a campaign aimed at telling women (of color) how to raise boys, and pushes abstinence for girls (it doesn’t mention, for boys)…  I’m sick of this stuff — I think some of the people that are inspired to make a profession of this are still dealing with their own inferiority complex, which is apparently helped with all the titles, tours, book-signings, and conferences.  That doesn’t mean they’re not smart (enough to hang out together and promote each others’ STUFF).  Sorry if this sounds a little harsh….

Compassionate, motivated and determined are just three words that describe David C. Miller, a tireless warrior who labors diligently to improve the quality of life for children in the United States and abroad. As Co-founder and Chief Visionary Officer for the Urban Leadership Institute, L.L.C., Miller has built a national reputation as a leader among people who focus on improving the lives of children, youth and families. David is adept at building sustainable relationships with non-profit agencies at the local, state and federal levels and has a knack for securing grants to implement the many innovative programs he devises

Other (listed) ULI Staff officers don’t seem to include LaMarr Shields, who (see below) couldn’t (or just didn’t) keep the corporation legit, a very complex procedure which involves sending in a few sheets of paper (or probably electronically possible too) with a fairly small check and telling the State that one exists this year, as it did last year.  It’s not a tax return or financial statement:  Basically, name & address of corporation and its registered agent.  That’s about it.  But ULI couldn’t do it for more than a year in a row?? Dr. Karla M. Paylor is a pediatrician, behavioral health expert — and David Miller’s wife, mother of three children. {{See bio}} She seems the most highly qualified on the board, as far as degrees.  Of course, where’s the tax return if it’s barely a corporation in MD? I am wondering is it their children, or a remarriage situation (because it doesn’t use the word “their” in the description). Aqueela Sherrills looks like he’s walked the walk, was raised in Los Angeles Watts riots time (and is in California still?)

In 1989, after seeing 13 of his friends killed in the bloody gang war that was destroying his community, Aqeela was inspired with a vision to create peace in his neighborhood. In 1992, after laying years of ground work, Aqeela and his brother Daude successfully bought the neighborhood gangs together for the signing of the “Peace Treaty” between the Bloods and the Crips in Watts. In 1999, Aqeela and his brother establish the Community Self Determination Institute (CSDI), a social-profit agency dedicated to the transformation of the Watts community. CSDI has managed over $3 million in contract with the City, County and State of California and has had upwards of 80 staff in Los Angeles and is one of the primary reasons that the peace settlement in Watts has had a lasting and binding effect and is now being emulated in other neighborhoods throughout Southern California. “Watts is the catalyst for the next major peace movement in this country” and CSDI is a vehicle for that change. On January 10, 2004, Aqeela’s oldest son Terrell was murdered while home from his first semester of college

The only incorporation under the CSDI name that comes up is what looks like a charter school, perhaps by a relative or wife (or daughter, etc.) and was formed in 2011 — not 1999.  If it had been formed and lost incorporation, a record should still show:

Entity Number	Date Filed	Status	Entity Name	Agent for Service of Process
C3375022	04/20/2011	ACTIVE	COMMUNITY SELF DETERMINATION INSTITUTE CHARTER SCHOOL (CSDICS)	LA VONA SHERRILLS

(this post has expanded a little beyond the original idea, however..searching “CSDI” notice the years..)

The 1998 filing actually shows up as an IDAHO corporation with a registered agent in Los Angeles.  The others are in Palmdale.  At least all are still active.  I wonder if this relates to some HUD grants. This CSDI CONTRUCTION, INC. being an IDAHO firm could have easily been registered by the same agent — which has offices in nearly every state including Idaho (well, several states) and is international.  Now, let’s talk about that appendix to the registered agent, “LTD.” — that’s not an American Incorporation suffix — legally, from what I understand, ours are Corp, Inc., (etc. — check state laws).  “LTD” would indicate a British firm, most likely.  So what is this British firm doing with projects that I’m going to hazard a guess, relate to HUD grants? The 2002 filing above, I looked up (by its Corporation#) as a charity and got the following “Not Registered” message…

Organization Name Registration Number Record Type Registration Status City State Registration Type Record Type C.S.D.I., INC. OF PALMDALE, CALIFORNIA Charity Not Registered PALMDALE CA Charity Registration Charity 1

HOWEVER, the EIN# I picked from this “not registered,” when keyed (actually copied & pasted) into the charity research tool (on same CA OAG site DID pick up another charity under a different name.  Interesting): GOLDYEAR HOLDINGS INC (542081068)
POMONA, CA 91767 Ruling date was 09/2003

Going back to look up THIS corporation name, we find it was suspended, after being formed 10/21/2002.  Unfortunately, my state site doesn’t tell viewers WHEN something was suspended.

Mr. Chi Jung Lii got 256 E Center Street Pomona, CA suspended, but appears to have a “Modern Grain (USA) Inc.” @ 250 E. Center (which lists as an industrial area?) and income of ca. $240K.

Two corporations (both of which were then suspended) were formed by RCJung Lii on 10/21/2002. The street address differed by “6” (256 vs. 250)  However, one of them (Goldyear Holdings) apparently got an EIN#542081058. 10/31/2002 (=Halloween, incidentally) TEN DAYS LATER, C.D.S.D., Inc. of Palmdale (not Pomona) California, was formed by Lavona Sherrills and is still active.  However, it never registered as a charity but somehow picked up an EIN#.  That’s how I found “Goldyear Holdings, Inc.” which is “c/o Daude Sherrill” (who, I learned, is Aqueela’s brother), @ 256 E Center (same as Goldyear).

I am definitely not going to be able to keep up with this, particularly as it’s a very, very compelling story line — but (not to disturb our peace) here come several more nonprofits.  What I want to know is, “show me the money” — i.e. the public funding he keeps referring to! The fact is MANY charities and philanthropies are looking for good causes to reduce their tax liability and increase their public image (otherwise there’s just be lots and lots and lots of corporations around — no philanthropy, right?  Just remember that the word “NONPROFIT” is an invention associated with the creation of the Federal Reserve and the Income tax, at least in the USA here.  And I’m starting to see how money can be laundered through charities too, as well as direct an inappropriate influence be concealed through an intermediary nonprofit. So, here’s some more (I looked up the person’s name) of the California Activity relating to PEACE between the Crips and the Bloods in Los Angeles.  I have lived in Calif. a long time, so I don’t know how well-known those names are, but if you live in this state, you probably know the gangs’ names: From: (the LOGO is the LINK) — Director page

Aqeela Sherrills

PEACE ADVOCATE ~ MEDIATOR ~ SPIRIT CENTERED ACTIVIST

It is difficult to grasp Aqeela Sherrills’ turbulent life. It is flat-out astonishing to consider what he has done with it.

Sherrills, now 40, grew up in Watts, in South Central Los Angeles. In that combative world he was a Crip, wearing blue. On the other side of the tracks were the red-clad Bloods. In one year alone, 1989, Sherrills lost thirteen friends to the gang war. He tried to escape. He was one of the few in his circle who went to college (where?) instead of jail. He reshaped his rage and displacement into an ethic of responsibility, first for his own life, and then for his community. At 19 he began working with football star Jim Brown and co-founded the Amer-I-Can Program, Inc. to heal gang violence around the country. For three years, Aqeela lived on the road in Las Vegas, Cleveland, New York, Portland, phoenix just to name a few and in each city they were successful in negotiating “Peace Treaties” in those Cities. In 1992 he brought his message home to Watts itself, gangland’s ultimate battleground. With his brother Daude and a few other key players in the community, he was able to forge a historic truce between the Crips and the Bloods in Watts.

I will be checking this out, which is what mode I’m obviously in today. The program material for Amer-I-Can Program doesn’t mention Aqeela.  Should it have? It says Jim Brown founded this, and that there are trainees.  Was Aqeela a trainee? (LOGO=Link)

Amer-I-Can wasfounded in 1988 by NFL Hall of Fame recipient, Jim Brown. The program goal is to help enable individuals to meet their academic potential, to conform their behavior to acceptable society standards, and to improve the quality of their lives by equipping them with the critical life management skills to confidently and successfully contribute to society. The training initially focuses on attitude modification designed to heighten the individual’s self esteem and motivate them toward positive behavior. Trainees quickly develop an understanding between cause and effect relationship, behavior and outcome and learn how to make better choices. By experiencing small but repeated positive behaviors, the trainees are able to realize their goals can be achieved through multiplying individual successes.

Notice the emphasis on training?   It makes sense (see the 3-pronged teaching method).

The Amer-I-Can Curriculum is a 15 chapter, 60 hour self esteem and life management course. The Program works within the structure of a self-help, peer group relationship, with a trained facilitator monitoring the group’s achievements … Methodology The curriculum is based on a three-pronged teaching methodology including Dual Sensory Perception, Control Group Discussion, and Spaced Repetition. 1. Dual Sensory Perception. Utilizing audio-visual aids to assist trainees with reading and/or learning disabilities or who are marginally literate. 2. Control Group Discussion: A group teaching methodology guided by the Facilitator, wherein each participant is allotted time to comment without interruption; group members may comment on what was previously said or offer new subjects for discussion. 3. Spaced Repetition: Lessons are presented up to three times to ensure comprehension and maximum retention of the principles of success, focus, determination, and responsibility.

The 9 life-skills areas are shown: The Amer-I-Can Program 269 S. Beverly Drive #1048 Los Angeles, CA 90212 CALIFORNIA SEC. OF STATE BUSINESS (Brown/tan) & CHARITABLE (light-blue/white) FILINGS SHOW ONE CORPORATION, AND ONE FOUNDATION.  THEY ARE NOT THE SAME…  The (suspended) corporation gets the license fees ($56,000 in one return I looked at for the foundation) for use of the program curriculum — above. ) Or, a different address (notice slight diff. in name)

IRS registration for the Foundation:

This is same address and incorporation person (Monique Brown) as the Foundation.  It was filing its “stuff” until about 2010. Of the Foundation (detail search available HERE, get the above result, then clink on name hyperlink to see details) one year, one can see it spent down its assets by about $1 million and after that its return was rejected.  The corporation was formed in 1990 (we DNK when it became a nonprofit, if it ever did).  The “foundation” (same address) got its nonprofit status in 1993. It is definitely suspended as a corporation, delinquent as a charity (if it’s the same “entity,” which is probable) -and is definitely still set up to collect through its website, naming the foundation registered in California — did it skip town, then?  Seems to be the name of the game…. OK — although none of this so far mentions Aqeela Sherrill, here’s with that program: Their 990 says that the Program is indeed a C-Corps, and that the Foundation is the non-profit running it.  So what else is new — a Nonprofit to run the stuff of the For-Profit and write it off. So Monique (agent for the suspended C-Corps (she says, owned by her brother the football pro) and Jim are on the foundation (brother/Sister).  and the FOUNDATION paid $56,000 “licensing fees” to the Foundation.  Plus $25K to a retired pro football group in KY, plus cash grants of ca. $13K to 15 different individuals.  They themselves earned a moderate $30K each (approximately).  what else is not new in this field? Neither of these seems immediately connected to this group, but FYI the Live one was filed in 2012 by another California LLC: So where are the licensing fees? (from USPTO.gov)  whatever…

(recurring gift option, you can dedicate it to someone). Online Donation Thank you for your support.  Your donation will ensure that the Amer-I-Can program continues to enrich, educate and better the lives of young people throughout this country. Financial contributions to The Amer-I-Can Foundation are tax-deductible. (options of up to $1,000 are given)….

Donate by Phone or Mail If you would like to make a donation via mail or fax, please use this link to our webpage to find the printable form to mail or fax your donation, or you may call 310-652-7884. Employer Matching Many companies have programs through which they will “match” the charitable contributions made by their employees. Through corporate gift matching, your employer can multiply your gift to Amer-I-Can, making it go further. Check with your company’s human resources office to see if they offer gift matching. (If they don’t, you may want to ask your company to start one.) If your employer does offer this program, your Human Resources department should provide you with a matching gift form to send to Amer-I-Can along with your donation. Complete this form and mail it with your donation to: The Amer-I-Can Foundation, 269 Beverly Dr. #1048, Los Angeles CA 90212 Donate Stock The gift of an asset, often common stock or mutual fund shares, is a valuable way to make a contribution to a charitable organization and receive tax benefits based on the value of the asset(s). For more information about donating stock, please contact our national headquarters at 310-652-7884 or email mbrown@amer-i-can.org

The nonprofit filings showed someone got rid of (or lost) around $1 million of assets between 2009 & 2010, after which it apparently quit filing — so why is the charity still marked “current” in California?  Doesn’t one have to actually file, or is it not earning anything?  It was steadily acquiring assets, then suddenly — they are all but gone.    The 2009 (next to last) program purpose reads:   ” “Provides Support and Reference services for problem students and other community youth Counselors provide life skill tools”

**They give, basically zero detail (other than the above statement of purpose) under “program service accomplishments” and claim $659K of expenses, $214K of salaries, almost $300K of “professional services” (in two line item entries), $13K for “Freeway Boys” whatever that is, etc.      In 2010 (I’m browsing the tax return) — they increased their revenues, but more than doubled “Other expenses” (the ones that aren’t really identifiable), ALMOST doubled their primary program expenses (from $659K to $1.1 million)and ended $21K in the hole (as to budget) but somehow, as you can see on top line above, with $105K in assets — after which the record goes blank, and both the Browns’ salaries are back up to the $30Ks (being brother/sister and only paid directors of this foundation).    Somehow there’s $600K+ of “Other Expenses” including $25K to a nonprofit in Kentucky  (EIN#) 32-0195687 ,and the $56K royalties to a program one of the directors owns (and has same street address as the foundation), but we don’t know WHEN it got suspended as a corporation by the state of California.  Which means, that if that FOR-Profit business which holds Intellectual Property rights to this above program isn’t filing a tax return — that money is tax-free.

You should look top line.  Looks like it earned $27K total, of which $25 was a gift from Amer-I-Can Foundation.  They also did a fundraising and earned, it says, $36K at an expense of $59K, which is a nice loss of the difference…. Purpose rather large for such a small organization.

PROVIDE RETIRED NFL PLAYERS WITH POST-CAREER COUNSELING AND EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH. TO RAISE FUNDS FOR THE PLAYERS ASSISTANCE TRUST FUND/PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES FOUNDATION AND SUPPORT CHARITABLE PROGRAMS OF THE NFLPA. TO DEVELOP AND SUPPORT NATIONAL YOUTH EDUCATION PROGRAMS. TO DEVELOP A PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES RETIREMENT CENTER. TO ASSIST COMMUNITIES IN BUILDING BETTER COMMUNITIES UNDER THE BANNER OF NFL PLAYER CHARITIES. TO RAISE FUNDS TO BENEFIT YOUNG PEOPLE AND YOUTH FOOTBALL. TO PROVIDE RETIRED PLAYERS WITH A PENSION PLAN. TO RAISE FUNDS TO AID FORMER PLAYERS FACED WTIH CATASTROPHIC FINANCIAL PROBLEMS AND TO PROVIDE A COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM FOR A MALE AND FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR THROUGH THE PROFESSIONAL ATHELETES FOUNDATION.

(2012 Sports Illustrated Article re: the lawsuits against NFL re: repeated concussions, tells of what it’s like for the wives and girlfriends who deal with the players’ dementia, or sometimes, rages…..)

Again, re:

Aqeela Sherrills

PEACE ADVOCATE ~ MEDIATOR ~ SPIRIT CENTERED ACTIVIST

(of the Urban League Institute, which was a vendor accused of taking a double-payment back in Baltimore, from HHS grants to Mentor Children of Prisoners, etc.)

BACK TO RHD-CALIFORNIA WHICH I CAN’T FIND; OR CSDI, ETC. & MR. SHERRILL. In this next segment, I attempt to find either the CSDI he’s referring to (with all the contracts), or “RHD-California,” as a business entity.  THAT gets real interesting …

 In 2002, CSDI employed over 80 community people, operated 18 contracts with the County, City and State and had 3 satellite sites through Los Angeles County and a $3 million dollar budget.

WHERE ARE THEY?  Because CSDI kinda sorta doesn’t seem to exist! (No one is helping with the grammar or proofing of the websites, I notice (&/or”developement” is intentional– despite the large budget).

Through Aqeela leadership, the connection between the violence national and internationally was made. It’s estimated that over the past 20 years, over 15,000 murders have been committed in these Los Angeles neighborhoods. That’s far more than all the victims of the conflict in Northern Ireland. However because Watts is in the USA, people don’t recognize this as a war zones. The youth and adults in this community suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Hypervigilence exhibiting many of the symptoms that veterans of the Vietnam War experience upon their return home. In 2000, Aqeela and Daude was invited to Belfast, Ireland to share their idea on creating and sustaining peace, In 2002 to Croatia, in 2003 Serbia, Belgrade, in 2004 to St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2005 Holland and this is just the beginning. When his wife {{DOES SHE HAVE A NAME?  LA VONA?  If this was so devastating — which it would be — what was her name?”}} died of breast cancer in August 2003 that should have been the bottom. It wasn’t. On January 10, 2004, Sherrills’ 18-year-old son, Terrell, home from studying theater arts in college, was shot in the back at close range. A Crip may have mistaken Terrell for a Blood because, of all things, he had a red Mickey Mouse sweater slung over his shoulder. Terrell died within the hour.

Very interesting set of government and foundation partners (selected United States) see website I am just noticing the lack of supporting information in references to the Croatia, Serbia, Russia, Holland, Belfast, etc. invites — in 20002, 2002, 2003, 2004 & 2005 — why no links or cites in this fairly clean-looking, new website for RHD-California (which I can’t see that the organization actually exists under that name). Here’s the contact address:

RHD-CALIFORNIA

• 9101 Hooper Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90002
• E: asherrills4@gmail.com
• T: 323-537-2645

The organization “RHD-CALIFORNIA” (in that form) does not exist.  Three use the general phrase, of which one (minus the extra “e” for “developEment”) is active — but it’s a Philadelphia, PA corporation.  First two may not be related, were maybe where someone got the idea for a corporation name?? And again, why does the incorporating agent end in “Ltd.” ??

Pay close attention to the addresses, of the registering agent (bottom part) vs. the Entity Address) when I show the detail (square block, not single row):

Pennsylvania Corporations search is a pain in the neck, but here are the registrations — OLD ones:

Unbelievably, it even has the same address and an EIN#: (PA charity registration)

I looked at TAGGS under this EIN#– it handles HEAD START, HEALTH CLUSTERS & PRIMARY CARE HOUSING ….

However (obviously) this is a Philadelphia Corporation. There is no charity registered in CA under the same EIN# (at all, search draws a blank).  Searching in California (under Charities) by the Corporate Entity# above (which — note — matches neither corporation name spelling nor contact (911 Hooper & plain gmail, not a corporation mailing name) address for the green-logo’d organization above)…. However, it does register:

It apparently registered in CA as a foreign corporation this past May, 2012 — and there is no information (i.e. reports) under its name yet  That’s odd, given that it registered as a corporation fully five years ago, IN California…..)

The registering agent is in Sacramento on 14th street.   It was, however, itself registered as a corporation by CORP2000, which has the same street address. The incorporating agent itself only incorporated a half year earlier!  Check the dates!!

But is a Delaware corporation….  (Are we having fun yet?)

When did CORP2000 get formed?

This says nothing about an address on Hooper Street in Los Angeles….

OK to review what I got (or see) SO FAR:   The Sherrills family members, of who Aqueela Sherrill — on an EAST COAST website Urban Leadership Institute (ULI, LLC, whatever version) that itself cannot keep incorporated and has been accused of taking $25K duplicate payment, to the point of having two audits — and is involved in promoting fatherhood (obviously), having been a VENDOR hired by ANOTHER nonprofit (Baltimore Rising, Inc.) which was itself formed by some public employees, one of who on the board of Baltimore Rising earned first $93K/year after which $82K/year and;  AFTER someone caught up with “something’s smells fishy in Denmark” (Guess that analogy was highly inappropriate) — which isn’t itself exactly legit, but DID manage to keep it up for two years, and there are even two tax returns showing, although the IRS.gov site doesn’t acknowledge BRI as a nonprofit (that I can see) – — And some of the dealings in this group were through the Baltimore City Foundation, Inc., which got a special investigation done on how much of a slush fund it appears to be, for the City of Baltimore (that is) — also funneled money through to Baltimore Rising, inc. (which basically appears to be the Mayor’s Office on Children Youth & Families) . . . .  (which is getting a good amount of HHS grants, see top of this page) (pause for a breath). Mr. Sherrill, given his Watts & gang intervention experience, seems like an amazing man, has his bio on the Maryland Site describing his California advocacy work with CSDI and organizations handling over $3 million of public funding.  Naturally, I’m curious to check this out (and not inexperienced in things that don’t check out in my home state here). . . . So here is the same “catch me if you can” incorporation behavior in California. I see (after running own this path a little while), it’s pretty hard to keep up with this one person’s associations and nonprofits, but here we go: As to that behavior — it appears to be happening every two years or so. But in this ONE aspect of CSDI, Inc. of Palmdale CA (where else is CSDI hanging out — in other states?).. For the 2006 Incorporation above (maybe these just aren’t charities?) similar result, searching by SOS Corporation #:

Organization Name Registration Number Record Type Registration Status City State Registration Type Record Type THE CSDI HOUSES INC. Charity Not Registered PALMDALE CA Charity Registration Charity 1

THAT EIN# IS 203966385 (No results at the “Charity Research Tool” which I gather uses IRS info). Charter school (formed in 2011) — not registered yet either, although it does take some time to get registered as a charity…. No EIN# yet.  FYI, some of these have the same PO Box address…

More detail from RHD-CALIFORNIA (website above with photo of Mr. Sherrill of Urban Leadership Institute):

 Aqeela serves on the board of the Turning Tides Coalition, Yoga For Youth Foundation, Fathers of Watts and Transformative Change. He consults with violence intervention/prevention agency locally, nationally and internationally. Aqeela also serves as the Principal of The Reverence Project, Owner/Curator of the Watts Arts Gallery, the Southern California Outreach Coordinator/Spokesperson for California Crime Victims for Alternative to the Death Penalty and Regional Director of Resources for Human Development

Here come more accolades – so I am going to want to see the backup.  It’s not going to happen today, though!  To put it a little bluntly — so far, nothing has proved bona-fide.  When there is a string of claims like this not quite labeled right, without links, cites, geography (there is a Turning the Tide Coalition apparently in SF) — one wears out eventually  WHich is the idea, I guess.  Just let the names wash over you….  This is sad, dealing with such live and vital topics.     But I think this one is possibly full of it — until some documentation shows up which is verifiable on-line as leading to some real (valid) corporation filed in a state, with the IRS, or in some other way, concrete and real. I think we are in the age of the digital economy, and there a kazillion ways to collect money off the radar, while traveling — a lot.  It’s also a fact we are in a networked (on-line) community. This is of course going to affect justice and the courts — and personal economies when PUBLIC money is funneled towards the various groups involved. URBAN LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE LEADERSHIP (another CONSULTANT on their site): Andre Turner developed “Knights of Valor,” after he himself completed his manhood training.  Seriously, it says that!

During the summer of 1999 he implemented a leadership program for the students at City College called the Knights of Valor. The program was designed to teach leadership skills. During the spring of 2000, Andre completed his manhood training and was incorporated into the Egbe Akokonrin Adult Male Rites of Passage. He now facilitates youth and adult male rites of passage programs in Baltimore. André Turner is committed to youth empowerment and leadership and does workshops throughout Baltimore. Mr. Turner is currently employed with The Men’s Center where he is committed to improving relationships that strengthen connections between men, children, and families in East Baltimore.

Actually, the linke to Egbe Akokonrin might as well be the link to The Mens Center, whose partners include “Maryland Regional Practitioners Network for Fathers and Families.  One testimony from The Mens Center explains how a father knew to come there for help with his court case.  He enrolled in “rites of passage, they came to court with him, he got a “not guilty” and was referred to Casey Family Programs.   (And women wonder how this happens still…….)

Thomas Moore was a 23 year old father of two when he came to The Men’s Center to seek assistance with a legal matter. After meeting with a case manager who completed a thorough needs assessment, it became clear that Mr. Moore was dealing with other issues as well. A case plan was developed and he was enrolled in, and completed, a four-week parenting and life skill session as well as an “Adult Rites of Passage” program.

When the date came for him to appear in court, he was accompanied by his case manager who brought a letter of reference from The Men’s Center explaining his participation in and success with his case plan activities. Mr. Moore was found not guilty. However, shortly thereafter, he was laid–off from his job in Washington, DC.

Again, The Men’s Center stepped in and referred Thomas to Casey Family Services, where he began working on a part-time basis as a youth advocate. He was later hired in a full-time capacity working with youth. Thomas continues to support the Men’s Center by participating in its activities, assisting with our youth Rites of Passage, and referring men to the program.

Mr. Moore may have had a custody matter, he may or may not have been found not-guilty without the magical reference from a Mens’ Center.   He then is laid off (who is supporting his kids?), so is now working FT with youth…. ((For the uninformed or inexperienced, there aren’t similar groups (that I’m aware of) to pro bono help women (mothers) go into court after they’ve separated from abuse.  Possibly this is because the money for pro bono groups is now going towards fatherhood programs, resulting in parent-ping-pong played by the federal government policies, etc.)) ULI appears to be a group that submitted some sloppy invoices, and double-billed the public, stealing $25K of public money from HHS.  Do we owe it to such groups to tip them 100%?

David’s work with parents and parent groups has been widely recognized as innovative and timely. In 2009, he launched the Raising Him Alone Campaign (www.raisinghimalone.com), an advocacy campaign focused on supporting single mothers and grandmothers who are raising boys. The Campaign disseminates best practices and recommendations for mothers in four key areas: Health and Wellness (mental health); Financial Literacy; Educational Support; and Reconnecting Fathers. The Campaign effectively uses social media and grassroots community organizing to support mothers who are raising sons. Additionally, David launched Changing Father (www.changingfatherhood.com) in 2010, a movement designed to redefine the images of fathers of color. Changing Fatherhood seeks to arm fathers with a virtual application that provides ongoing information and tips on responsible fatherhood.

Both those domain links above, FYI, are expired, and this is only 2012.

Not one to rest on his laurels, David is presently working on “Khalil’s Way,” a series of children’s books for boys of color. The first work in the series is slated for release in June. David received his bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Baltimore and a master’s degree in education {{M.Ed. program added in 1990}} from Goucher College.  {{Has been co-ed since 1986..interesting school, fairly small. requires a year abroad for undergrad, and history goes back to 1885.}}

FATHERS INCORPORATED (NRFC — 307A Consaul Road, Albany, NY — see recent blogs; Fathers Inc received $5+million (to date) of $7 million of grants (my last post before this one has the link) from the federal government to help continue and expand its social media campaign about fatherhood. Fathers Incorporated (the legit charity formed just in time to get the grant, but had been around since ca. 2004 under a variety of names, and not doing the right thing by NYS or the IRS (at all) — which at this point I believe constitutes a PRE-requisite of getting a major HHS Healthy Marriage/responsible Fatherhood (and for all I know, Domestic Violence) grant.  You have to, literally, prove that you don’t care about roles, ethics, corporate or tax filings. It’s interesting to me that Soros’ Open Societies-Baltimore gave the BCF a $25K for “A grant to support the efforts of the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development’s Steering Committee on Ex-Offender Employment.” How was it allowed to operate for three years without being monitored?  Guess that’s how it goes, pretty much, when HHS spits out this type of grant.  It’s not under as close scrutiny as, say, Medicaid, which is a known area ripe for fraud, including to the general public.  But helping children of incarcerated parents is such a great cause!! 2010 FOLLOWUP REVIEW OF HHS GRANT: This link has to be read through to be believed, though I put some summaries below (it’s a very short report, actually).

PERFORMANCE AUDIT REPORT

MENTORING CHILDREN OF INCARCERATED PARENTS

GRANT 90CV0215

AWARDED TO THE MAYOR’s OFFICE FOR CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILIES

(BALTIMORE RISING, INC.)

FROM THE US DEPT. OF HHS

FOLLOW-UP REVIEW MAY, 2010 

This is unbelievable, just read it and short enough.  It also signifies that after the grants are doled out, almost anything goes. This particular grant began at the Mayor’s Office of CYF (MOCYF, above) in 2007 and then was transferred to a nonprofit (Baltimore Rising, Inc., “BRI” in the report).   The findings alone are just astounding, and that finally, in 2009?  BRI was recommended to actually hire some financial staff and began (imagine that! really tracking expenses) using QuickBooks and a part-time CPA. However they are still arguing about returning $900,000 to HHS.  BRI doesn’t think it should have to, and HHS hasn’t claimed it, either. FINDING#1  “Financial Reports Submitted by MOCYF to the HHS were not supported by the City’s Accounting Records.”  (minor detail!!) FINDING #2 “Cash Management Procedures were not followed regarding the timely reimbursement of Federal Grant Expenditures”  (Meaning the City had to cover the difference when BRI (by now) didn’t submit documentation to HHS.  City stopped doing this in 2009.  HHS gave “verbal permission to drawdown funds before submitting the expenditures.”) FINDING #3 “The amounts reported for in-kind contributions were not properly supported and documented.” (specifically mentions that services should actually have time-sheets with a rate attached; space donations should have square footage, % and reasonable rates; and items donated should have an itemized list with assigned values). Follow-up audit showed BRI had not done this… (that’s a year later?)… Log in sheets for volunteer hours, and donation sheets for items were then obtained, but are not being implemented.  This matter is not resolved (how SIMPLE is that to implement?  Log-in sheets and receipts for donated items???)  They apparently simply don’t believe they have to — HHS doesn’t seem to mind, either… FINDING #4  “Expenditures for consultant costs were made without written contractual agreements, vendor-prepared invoices, adequate documentation, or Board of Estimates’ approval and were not made in accordance with the City’s Administrative Manual.” [[Reminds me of a certain parenting coordinator in Lackawanna County, PA — who an AOC (whitewash) report ca. 2011 admitted had been working since 1997 without a contract.  Anne Marie Termini.  No one really knew exactly what she did; she’d been offered a contract, etc….]]   Sounds here like they just didn’t give a damn… This finding was re: the Mayor’s Office (MOCYF), too!  BRI, however implemented a policy, which sounds like it’s working.   Any commentary on the undocumented earlier consultant payments?  I’d like to know, to whom (if I lived in the area)… It sounds as if BRI (the nonprofit) had some blended-entity status with the City, but now, they say, by July 2010 it’s going to be a bona fide free-standing entity separate from the City and will have to start using contracts, and the BRI board of directors ideally should approve its own agreements with consultants, etc. FINDING #5:  to summarize, unsupported expenditures and duplicate payments made through the MOCYF — and MOCYF didn’t seek to recover those grant funds.   Recommendation:  They should get back that $25,000 duplicate vendor payment and quit funneling money to other nonprofits (Baltimore City Foundation, Inc.) which is not in accord with federal requirements! Follow-up.  The vendor intends to keep the extra $25,000, although the same documentation was used to support each payment.  BRI isn’t going to do anything about this.  Regarding paying BCF, Inc. (see above para.), BRI continued to pay BCF after the first warning (audit) in 2009, so in January 2010 sounds like the City took action and cancelled their “fiduciary” relationship (huh?).  This audit was in May…..   WHAT THIS TELLS ME — the audit’s aren’t really producing much change.  The groups continue to drag their feet on changing their ways. FINDING #6:  Board of Estimates (whoever that is) approval was not obtained for years 2 & 3 of the grant. But by three months into the third year, the nonprofit BRI got it together and got “Board of Estimates” approval for the final year of the grant. CONCLUSION: Well, there’s still about that $900,000 questioned costs.  HHS hasn’t bothered to respond as of the date of this report (I THINK IT’S PROBABLY JUST KICKBACKS!!!) And BRI actually coughed up some forms to record in-kind donations, but isn’t using them.  (Somehow the matter of the $25K duplicate vendor payment doesn’t make it onto the conclusion, although it sure looked like an unresolved issue to me.  What size family could that amount feed and house, in a year? Again, here’s the link to our report, above. The principal investigator of this federal grant (see TAGGS chart, above) was Ms. Bonnie Ariano who, surprisingly, has a history in matters regarding domestic violence and sexual assault advocacy, including getting things done.  Here’s the rest of her bio from the ‘FAITH&WORKS CONFERENCE” above:

Ms. Ariano was one of the three founding staff employees with Turnaround, Inc., and served as its Executive Director for 17 years. During Ms. Ariano’s tenure, Turnaround, Inc., which assists victims of sexual assault and domestic violence, grew to a staff of 24, 16 of whom were clinical staff offering individual and group therapy and 24 hour availability for hospital emergency room companions and a hotline serving Baltimore City and County. Her advocacy efforts on behalf of victims resulted in the creation of the Baltimore County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council, whose members included judges, police, attorneys and representatives from community organizations.

(But not battered women, or mothers – or fathers?)

Within its first year of existence, the Council was able to secure funding and support to create the first in Maryland, Spousal Abuse Unit of the Baltimore County Police Department. Also through this Council, Ms. Ariano was instrumental in the design and passage of the Marriage Licensing Fee legislation that would be a standard across the country and would allow for the permanent availability of funding for domestic violence programming. Ms. Ariano most recently served as the Deputy Director of the Mayor’s Office of Children, Youth and Families in Baltimore City, and held that position for 7 years. In that capacity, Ms. Ariano provided technical assistance, capacity-building and funding assistance to community and faith-based organizations serving children and families in high-crime neighborhoods in the city. She also served as the liaison between local government, service providers and faith institutions and in a development capacity, writing and submitting grants to the State and Federal government. As a result, over $6 million was awarded to fund programming through the Mayor’s Office.

(Ms. Ariano, director of “The Jericho Program,” from Speakers’ page of this FAITH&WORKS Conference in San Antonio, Texas) I notice the conference also has two representatives from  “ICF International” and the Director of the OFBCI, Jay Hein….) And as a result of the above audit, I’d recommending auditing that $6 million, too.  (Does this include the almost $1 million ($994K) that was awarded, then removed in 2004, and the almost $1 million ($900,000) which has been questioned?    If grant money in this manner is returned to HHS after the expiration of a grant — it wouldn’t show up on TAGGS, I’ll bet.

Faith and Works: A Call for Evidence of Action

October 27-28, 2008 Hyatt Regency San Antonio, Texas Sponsored by Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion and OneStar Foundation

I would like to point out of this ‘FAITH AND WORKS CONFERENCE” that it’s HQ’d, apparently, at Baylor University (texas) “ISReligion.”  Too complex to explain now (but must be blogged herein, at least in part)– this is in part where the OHIO Governor’s (not Mayor’s) OFFICE OF FAITH-BASED AND COMMUNITY INITIATIVES went for shelter, when IT was caught (also just prior to 2007) in allegations of fraud & “take the money and run” behaviors under Krista Sisterhen.  As with this situation, that one also involved other nonprofits. I am what some people might call a “woman of faith.”  But I have decided that religious institutions are inappropriately unsafe for women, they set a clear example of covering up (not addressing) serial batterers/domestic violence in their ranks (I believe that’s been well-established) and that were such institutions different, there’d a lot less femicide around. This conference comes from this Baylor Institute:

Byron R. Johnson bio:

Byron Johnson is Distinguished Professor of the Social Sciences at Baylor University, Director of the Institute for Studies of Religion (ISR) as well as director of the Program on Prosocial Behavior, both at Baylor. He is a Senior Fellow at the Witherspoon Institute (Princeton), and Senior Research Scholar at the Institute for Jewish and Community Research (San Francisco). Johnson is chief advisor for the Center for the Study of Religion and Chinese Society, Peking University (Beijing). He is also a senior fellow at the Sagamore Institute for Policy Research. Professor Johnson has directed research centers at Vanderbilt University and the University of Pennsylvania. He recently completed a series of studies for the Department of Justice on the role of religion in prosocial youth behavior. He is recognized as a leading authority on the scientific study of religion, the efficacy of faith-based organizations, domestic violence, and criminal justice. Recent publications have examined the impact of faith-based programs on recidivism reduction and prisoner reentry. Along with other ISR colleagues he completed a series of empirical studies on the religious landscape of China. Johnson is also collaborating with other scholars on several studies of religious intolerance and tolerance in America. He is currently collaborating with the Gallup Organization on a series of studies addressing religion and spirituality in the United States as well as internationally. Johnson’s research has been used in consultation with the Department of Justice, Department of Defense, Department of Labor, and the National Institutes of Health.

That’s nice.  This conference (whatever it concluded) it says is co-sponsored by the OneStar Foundation, which led me to a nice presentation on how “Faith-based” Texas has gone, as of 2004, under Gov. Rick Perry.  NB:  OFBCI was ONLY instituted by Presidential (of the U.S.) Executive Order GWBush in January 2001.  I see they didn’t lose any time or momentum in setting up the parallel/shadow (alternate) infrastructures to existing government.  Of course GWB came from governor of The Lone Star State, anyhow, this should hardly be surprising:

What is the Texas Faith-Based & Community Initiative?

The social sector includes organizations that share a public mission with government to address and reduce the effect of social problems, thereby improving people’s quality of life. In Texas, this sector is made up of both faith-based and secular nonprofit organizations that possess unique strengths in serving those in need that government cannot duplicate. In order to meet the growing need for social services, it is critical that individuals, private business, government and particularly faith-based and community organizations are positioned to work together as committed and effective partners. Texas has long been a leader in reducing the obstacles that faith-based and community groups face when seeking to collaborate with each other and with state and federal government to better serve our communities. Building on this legacy, OneStar leads the Governor’s Faith-Based and Community Initiative, which was created by Governor Rick Perry in 2004. The initiative is focused on:

• Encouraging cross-sector collaborations between government, faith-based and community groups and other entities, such as private sector businesses,
• Ensuring that faith-based and community groups are ready to succeed in their partnerships by strengthening their organizational capacity and their work together to achieve common goals,
• Encouraging research and evaluation to measure the impact of these partnerships in effectively serving Texans in need.

In 2009, the Texas Legislature passed and the Governor signed legislation creating, among other important provisions, an Interagency Coordinating Group (ICG) of State Agency Liaisons charged with improving the working relationship between faith-based and community organizations and the State Government. This legislation was the first of its kind, and is another example of how Texas is leading the nation in recognizing how critical it is for government and nonprofits, including faith-based groups, to work side-by-side as true partners in addressing our social problems.  Additional legislation in 2011 created a citizen Task Force on Improving Relations with Nonprofits.  The 8 member Task Force, representing a wide range of nonprofit services, is to assist the ICG in performing its stated duties. View bill summaries and ICG and Task Force Reports to the Legislature below. ICG Report December 2011