Early Morning Intuitive on the Larger Picture

I JUST FOUND RECENTLY:  Meyer Elkin Feb. 27, 1992 Oral interview by David Kuroda, found on Video, posted on May 6, 2013.  The 1992 transcript is on my right sidebar (has been for some years) and a link also within the summary below.

Meyer Elkin (d. 1994?) has more to do with the origins of family court than most people outside the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts may realize.  This would be a good listen (and/or read) showing the original inspirations, which continue today…  It’s good to hear folklore, which this is,  (self-reporting on one’s own work, as interviewed by someone engaged in similar business and as a “founder” of such a movement) in the folklorists’ own words..  As summarized on YouTube — bookmark this in your memory please, and take some time to consider what you find in that interview, how it may relate to what we are experiencing today in the same courts:

Published on May 6, 2013

Interviewed by David Kuroda on February 27, 1992

An interview with Meyer Elkin as he discusses the beginning of his career in social work; education in social work at Berkeley; early positions during social work career; work with the Jewish Committee for Personal Service; the Conciliation Court in Los Angeles.

Meyer Elkin, a social worker with an MSW from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Social Welfare, created the Conciliation Court in Los Angeles as a vehicle for the Court to provide mediation and counseling to families considering divorce. It became the prototype for other conciliation court programs elsewhere in the United States.

To view a transcript of the interview, visit https://libraries.usc.edu/california-…

The California Social Welfare Archives (CSWA), established in 1979, is a non-profit organization operating under the auspices of the USC School of Social Work and affiliated with the University Libraries. It collects and preserves documents and personal histories of significant contributors to the evolution of social welfare ensuring their availability to future generations — students, teachers, historians, and researchers. Collection activity includes gathering and archiving social welfare materials of historical significance, conducting oral history interviews with contributors to social welfare solutions in California, and creating events to publicly recognize significant contributors to California social welfare.

For a written transcript of the interview, please email cswa@usc.edu.

The Association of Family and Conciliation Courts jointly publishes Family Court Review with Hofstra University (Maurice A. Deane? School of Law).  A look at its editorial board would be a lesson in itself in who’s been running these operations, or trying to anyhow.

For the context, see blog title.  I wrote out, non-stop and almost intuitively, what I believed was relevant to the viewing audience of a 4/26/2016 post which had actually raised information on the HMRF funding — below detailed, case-specific information about no less than FIVE criminal prosecutions arising out of ONE high-profile (at least in the Dakota County, Minnesota) case with which many family court litigants might identify, regardless of whether they may be on the same socioeconomic scale (apparently — high) of the two family lines involved.

That post actually has given rise to what will be FIVE other posts:  This 3-part series, one I already published, and another one which is looking in more detail at a specific “FBO” (Faith Based Organization) in Georgia with some peculiar fiscal habits I haven’t gotten to the bottom of.

Such as, how HHS is citing (again) the wrong city and address for this grantee, as compared to what the grantee is writing on its own tax returns; [##straightened out below; see “Georgia Corporation Search Results” found after THIS post was published.  It doesn’t “straighten out” why a Board of Directors would use a different address on its federal tax returns than when reporting to the State of Georgia, however…];

…and how the grantee is functioning apparently under two DIFFERENT EIN#s, only one which shows up as the legitimate recipient of tax-deductible contributions, and another which has been used since 2014 (fiscal year 2013 as I recall),

…and — more to the point — why again, there is enough internal inconsistency in this organization’s reporting of its predominantly ABSTINENCE_focused activities (along with healthy marriage, etc.) — such that it is self-reporting on the organization details, receipt of profits in EVERY category of program service activity– but this does NOT show on Page 1 (at all) and it does not show on the Schedules at the back of tax returns which are supposed to also report this, along with the grants.

Again, the organization itself (according to their tax returns) seem to exist primarily courtesy federal HHS grants (and some, other levels — state or county I guess, which might likewise still represent HHS grants to the state, passed through to the county, or directly to that county) contributions, and supposedly NOT running a profitable business, courtesy the taxpayers, tax-exempt, and without admitting to the profits. But, that certainly does appear to be what it’s doing.

Let me talk about this for a bit:

A big case of “Huh??? !!” regarding just ONE, and hardly the largest one among others, grantee in Georgia…

(running programming from another grantee, in Colorado who at a certain point not too many years ago, got mixed up in an Uganda President’s “kill-the-gays” movement and had to backtrack, apparently ALSO change organization names and corporate business entities a few times, issue a disclaimer “THAT wasn’t our intention!” (searchable on this blog and on-line)

..and that entity in Georgia’s lack of demonstrating (year after year) even an understanding of how to fill out a tax return, let alone those tax returns reflecting what HHS says the organization is and where it operates (!!).  Even a casual look only leads to even more “Questionability” on the ultimate purpose (agenda) behind these HMRF and post-PRWORA-based federal grants systems in the first place.

Like, how HHS is citing (again) the wrong city and address for this allegedly “Stone Mountain, Georgia” grantee, how the grantee is functioning apparently under two DIFFERENT EIN#s, only one which shows up as the legitimate recipient of tax-deductible contributions, and that has been used since 2014 (fiscal year 2013 as I recall) and — more to the point — why again, there is enough internal inconsistency in this organization’s reporting of its predominantly ABSTINENCE_focused activities (along with healthy marriage, etc.) — such that it is self-reporting on the organization details, receipt of profits in EVERY category of program service activity– but this does NOT show on Page 1 (at all) and it does not show on the Schedules at the back of tax returns which are supposed to also report this, along with the grants, nor does it show on Part VIII, “Statement of Revenues — which, if Page 2 of the returns are to believed, these figures certainly are.

This odd situation may be no more than a digital typo — except for the  internally inconsistent and conveniently “not reporting our profits” contents of the tax returns as well.  It took me a while to recognize that the difference in EIN#s might have been an odd way of keeping the same digits — in a different order, meaning, NOT the same identifying code:

Search Again  notice” 15-8211626 versus “58-21165261.”  The 58-2116261 is recognized by the IRS, the other (“more than a typo” in my opinion) is not, but NEITHER organization, or this same organization under different Board of Directors AND street addresses within a single year (2013 to 2014) STILL is not properly reporting how its own tax returns claim to be PROFITING, across the board, on HHS-(primarily) sponsored grants activities.  What’s more, at least one I saw (the one in yellow highlighting) did NOT properly record its own Part VIIA (directors, trustees, key officers, etc.) total income on Part IX expenses.  The amount it was off by is approximately $200K — for that year, only.  What about the other years?

Compare the two EIN#s.  That’s not a “typo” — one number has been transposed from the end to the beginning of the string of 9 numbers comprising an identifier with the IRS and other places.  (not to mention, bank accounts associated with a particular organization).

MTCIGA.org — in 2013 as EIN# 582116261, under Viola January, and in Conyers Georgia.

The 7X profit from  Expenses in their third program service activity would seem to indicate some “Program Service REVENUES” (any revenues on that Part III, page 2 are actually revenues — it’s what the word “revenues” means in the context of “Program Service Accomplishments.”  But nothing shows on page 1 (Summary) where a blank for “how much did your activities earn, as opposed to what did your organization receive as gifts, earn as investment income or earn in “unrelated business income.”

4c (Code )(Expenses $ 33 ,266 Includinggrants of$ )(Revenue $ 241,696 THE HOPE PROJECT TARGETS AT-RISK YOUTH ( AGES 14 – 19) IN THE MOST IN-NEED HIGH SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITY SITES. THE HOPE ABSTINENCE PROJECT STRIVES TO SERVE 1,200 PRIMARILY IMPOVISHED(sic)  AFRICAN-AMERICAN AND LATINO STUDENTS OVER TWO YEARS. THE PROJECT INTENDS TO REDUCE TEEN PREGNACY (sic) , BIRTH AND STD RATES IN THE AREA BY PROVIDING IN-SCHOOL, AFTER SCHOOL AND SUMMER INSTRUCTION AND ACTIVITIES USING THE WAIT TRAINING CIRRICULUM (sic).

Apparently they are not teaching spelling.

By comparison here’s the same organization (??) using naming the same website, same date of corporation also in Conyers, Georgia (but a different street address), return signed by “Viola January” but notably adding a board member, Philippia P. Faust, and how they described the much smaller profits from the WAIT Curriculum this year.  “Change of address” is not marked on the header information, although it’s at a different address, apparently, from 2013:

MTCIGA.org – Form 990, Year 2014 in Conyers, Georgia, EIN# 15-8211626, Notice, the digit “1” now shows at the beginning, not the end of the tax return’s EIN#, filled in by presumably someone in authority, or at least signed by them.

(Code: ) (Expenses $ 184,711 including grants of $ ) (Revenue $ 249,555 THE HOPE PROJECT TARGETS AT RISK YOUTH (AGES 14-19) IN THE MOST IN-NEED HIGH SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITY SITES. THE HOPE ABSTINENCE PROJECT STRIVES TO SERVE 1200 PRIMARILY IMPOVERISHED AFRICAN -AMERICAN AND LATINO STUDENTS OVER TWO YEARS. THE PROJECT INTENDS TO REDUCE TEEN PREGNANCY, BIRTH AND STD RATES IN THE AREA BY PROVIDING IN-SCHOOL, AFTER SCHOOL AND SUMMER INSTRUCTION AND ACTIVITIES USING THE WAIT TRAINING CURRICULUM.

Speaking in very broad terms, it seems that in 2013, the expenses for the ‘HOPE PROJECT” increased 6-fold ($33K to $184K) from prior year, while the revenues somehow stayed about the same, for the same (as described) activities.  Not quite the same ratio of profitability, however an UNIdentified (and NOT shown in Schedule O as it was supposed to have been) activity which did produce significant program service revenues — compared to what was put into it — is showing at the very bottom of Part III (Page 2) for year 2014, as we can see here:

Other program services (Describe in Schedule O )

4d (Expenses $ 71,221 including grants of  )  (Revenue $ 463,937) ***

Total program service expenses ►$ 1,481,541

AND (Patience has its reward) — not an official source, that much, but here is a Governmental resolution commending “Committed 2 You, Inc.” for strengthening marriage in Georgia.  It’s about two pages long.  That’s your governmental connection.   Look at the URL — though not looking too official, it does appear on a *.gov” site.

I also notice the reference (in that proposed Governmental Resolution commending this “Committed 2 You, Inc.”) that possibly this was sponsored by “Georgia Family Council Center for Community Initiative” which bears further looking into.

Meanwhile, I searched “Georgia Corporations” by “Viola January” (instead of “January, Viola” which brought up nothing) and found both organizations. Notice that one lists the name in normal word order (and ALL CAPS) and the other, in reverse word order.  More to the point, one was “Administratively Dissolved,” that is’ Committed 2 You, Inc.” was administratively dissolved.

Every database has its “search” foibles, and without some self-awareness of what might have gone wrong when the first attempts produce few results, and without persistence, it can be discouraging). Search results (after publishing this post) as of Sat. May 7, 2016 pm.:

From Details page of “Committed 2 You, Inc.” we see, organized (incorporated) in 2008, last filing 2012.  Around this time, per its own “history” page, “More Than Conquerors, Inc.” was getting ready to grow up and spin off as itself after years of working with a fiscal agent, in administering (primarily, abstinence education, but also some other youth-focused programming).  The next quote omits the table structure, but has the basic information.  Notice it didn’t file since 2012 –but wasn’t until three years later, actually quite recently:

BUSINESS INFORMATION Business Name:COMMITED 2 YOU, INC.Control Number:08008899Business Type:Domestic Nonprofit CorporationBusiness Status:Admin. DissolvedBusiness Purpose: Principal Office Address:1268 Mannbrook Drive, Stone Mountain, GA, 30083Date of Formation / Registration Date:1/31/2008State of Formation:GeorgiaLast Annual Registration Year:2012DissolvedDate :12/31/2015

Only two officers are displayed:

OFFICER INFORMATION

Name Title Business Address Viola January Secretary 1268 Mannbrook Drive, Stone Mountain, GA, 30083, USA Viola January CEO 1268 Mannbrook Drive, Stone Mountain, GA, 30083, USA William Billingsley, E CFO 7000 Kimberly Lane, Riverdale, GA, 30296, USA

While this Georgia Business Entity Search site (re-vamped substantially since I began this blog) doesn’t show all associated images, it does provide a streamlined “Filing History” and “Name “History” for each organization and addresses for (latest) registered officers.

From this, and for “MORE THAN CONQUERORS, INC.,” we can see that the Stone Mountain address preferred by HHS (TAGGS database) is actually in there.  But, was not acknowledged on the associated tax returns, above.

From the filing history (which I won’t post here), it was incorporated 1991, filed again in 1994, administratively dissolved [which means Not Filing Properly with the Secretary of State] in 1998, again in 2002, and got a notice of administrative dissolution in 2006, after which they seem to have been behaving better, potentially now that their abstinence and marriage education (etc.) grants were coming straight from HHS to them instead of by way of other “fiscal agents..” such as “Rockdale Medical Center” (as the “History” page describes in some detail).

An “Amended and Restated Articles” (of MTCIGA.org) shows, signed by Chris Young (Chairman of the Board) in Nov., 2013.  …..

• These deal exclusively with how it’s administered, in considerable detail (EXCEPT under 10.8, “Conflict of Interest” which says only that they shall maintain a policy.  No reference whatsoever is made to the charitable purpose of the organization, i.e., marriage and abstinence education, etc.  Board of Directors meets 4X a year, and there different Classes of Membership on the Board of Directors, details on expense reimbursements, etc.   Just not much –at all — on conflicts of interest.

One thing I look at when an organization has been “administratively dissolved” (for failure to file properly, in other words) is how many months, for how long, before they get themselves “reinstated.”  Look at the gap/s between administrative dissolution and re-instatement.  If it’s significant (a half year or more), then such organization was POSSIBLY operating illegally for that duration. After all, one requirement of operating as a corporation in the USA is that they remain registered in the state in which they are doing business.

[The level of details that need to be looked at to pull this together — see “resolution” link above suggesting “Committed 2 You, Inc.” as somehow a good role model of an organization doing the right thing for the public (by setting up shop, then failing to stay registered?), and there is also a “Center for Community Initiative @ Georgia Family Council” with a Norcross, Georgia Street address.  In a 2010 (FYI) “Marriage Week” declaration (I’d bookmark and think about what’s on it also — there’s a statement the idea came from the UK to the US by way of “Brent Barlow and Diane Sollee” (who is, or should be, well known by now — at least on my blog — for participating in pushing for a “Marriage Movement” in the USA, with a Year 2000 Conference in Chicago (Also involving the Institute for American Values and, as I recall, a Louisville, KY-based foundation).  The key word here is “Smartmarriage.com” ® which term belongs to an LLC run by Diane Sollee.  So, at the “Smartmarriages.com ® conferences, 2000-2010 approximately, would-be grantees and curriculum providers could congregate, hook up, figure out how to purchase or set up certification routines (part of the distribution network, right?) and from there, go get those HHS grants!

GEORGIA MARRIAGE WEEK, 2010

Georgia Marriage Week

February 7th – February 14, 2010  

                             

 “We Applaud Our Sponsors” …. “Corporate Sponsors” (first one listed):

Center for Community Initiatives

3500 Parkway Lane, 460

Norcross, GA 30092

(770) 242-0001

Georgia Family Council’s Center for Community Initiatives (CCI) team is building strong communities throughout Georgia by promoting healthy marriages and families at the local level. CCI connects leaders from various sectors of a community and helps them craft long-range plans for strengthening families measurably in a way that best fit their community’s needs.

In December of 2009, the North Atlanta Family Network, in association with the Georgia Family Council and 11 grassroot Community Marriage Inititatives, petitioned Govenor Sonny Perdue to proclaim February 7th – February 14th, 2010 as Marriage Week in Georgia.

 

“God ordained the sanctity of marriage as a holy and sacred union between two people who promised to love, honor and respect each other and to give themselves faithfully to each other for as long as they both shall live…”

 

These are the opening words of the proclamation signed in 2010 by Governor Sonny Perdue declaring February 7th – February 14th as “Marriage Week” in Georgia…more

FINALLY (on this connection, and thank you for your patience!), connecting this material to “MTCIGA.org,” above — look at the PARTNERS page logos here, and you can notice some of the programming it is running, including “Committed 2 You, Inc.” and “MATURE” program out of Rockdale Medical Center in Conyers, Georgia, and “Center for Community Initiatives at Georgia Family Council”.  I will show those images, and related street addresses:

135 West Avenue Conyers, GA 30012 (404) 725-5568 http://www.committed2you.org

3500 Parkway Lane, Suite 460 Norcross, GA 30092 (770) 242-001 http://www.georgiafamily.org

The MATURE Project Rockdale Medical Center 1412 Milstead Avenue Conyers, GA 30012

See Street address for “georgiafamily.org” logo — above.

I FOUND that organization, by the usual means (looking for it!).  The organization name, and street address do NOT match what’s above, however its books are in the care of one of only two paid board members of “GeorgiaOpportunity.org,” a.k.a. the

“Georgia Center for Opportunity” as it now goes by.  Regardless, and despite an address change (Fiscal Year 2011) and apparently a name change (sometime thereafter), its books are in the care of its COO (Salary:  $121K) Terry Tucker (the CEO, Randy Hicks earns $118K) (that partic. year anyhow).

“State the name, physical address, and telephone number of the person who possesses the books and records of the organization –Terry Tucker 3500 Parkway Lane Suite 460 Norcross,GA 30092 (770)242-0001″

In looking for “Georgia Family Council” to start with, I already located this (sponsored, incidentally) search result, and that they were running marriage curricula:

Those tax returns still show a former name:

Search Again

 Interesting tax returns.  From various of the above:

•  It shows as 100% private (i.e., no government grants) funded.  It seems, however, what they want to do is help set up other people and organizations (“initiative”) in line to GET government grants (especially — guess what — HMRF and Pregnancy Prevention, etc. in nature) from HHS and with this assistance — not direct TO them, but pushing others to make that happen — they can influence policy..
• (If you compare Prior/Current years) I noticed that when one year they had a budget surplus of several hundred thousand dollars, the next, they managed to get rid of it by increasing expenditures in the categories of “Salaries” (but only adding one employee, somehow the total salaries jumped by about $250K) AND “Other expenses” (also increased by $250K) resulting in a negative (Revenues – Expenses) the following year.  Helps keep a low profile, I guess.  Perhaps in this they were taking a cue from our own government, which seems to do the same….
• Date of Organization — 1990, one year before (per State of Georgia) “More Than Conquerors, Inc.”  although that organization says it started in 1989….

Post-Publication Note:  FYI, Excessive Material Added AFTER post was published (on the Georgia Family Council issue, which is relatively heavyweight in this context, and important) is removed below.  Sorry about any gaps in transitional language which may result.

@@@@@@@@@@@@

See “heart-shaped” “MATURE” logo to right, and associated Street address.  The “Mature II” grants are already being distributed to MTCIGA.org from HHS.

Link to a saved TAGGS.hhs.gov search of this organization, only (not selecting on any particular year or type of grant).  Organization name shows at top of the report, so that column was omitted in the results.  Notice:  $9.1M Grants since 2010 only…. Look what is the focus of the grants received (in content and programming)– here’s that table. (The Link — please share with others!)

The “pink” table color is added.  This is a government website’s report & search results, copied & pasted onto this post May 7, 2016.

Organization Logo/motto talks about “Setting the Standard.”  Interesting…  notice the largest type of grant above was HMRF.  That figure, “$798,798” appears at least twice as “Revenues” in the tax returns, wrongfully so.  Assuming then, that there were “0” program service revenues for the organization, several (or, many) years in a row — then we are to presume that NONE of the venues where the classes were run charged any fees to any participants, or the sponsoring organizations (i.e., churches, middle schools, community centers, wherever).

 NOW, ABOUT ONE OF THOSE CURRICULA (REFERRING BACK TO THE ‘MORE THAN CONQUERORS, INC.” TAX RETURNS — SEVERAL INCHES ABOVE IN THIS POST….)

The “WAIT Training Cirriculum” (sic) is produced by another, HHS-funded and ongoing-sponsored group called “The Center for Relationship Education.”  (Sample article on what’s done in this context): Shelly Donahue’s “WAIT Training” Education Video (article by Andy Kopsa — I’ve quoted it before) is 8/11/2011:

The Denver based WAIT (“Why Am I Tempted?”) abstinence-until-marriage program has used over $8.2 million in federal funds to bring assemblies like ones illustrated in the clips below to public schools, churches and community centers throughout the state.

The abstinence program, demonstrated by Shelly Donahue, is the subject of this week’s cover story, “Forbidden Fruit.”

Despite being cited for using shame and guilt-based methods as well as providing medically inaccurate information, WAIT will receive over $220,000 per year for the next three from the state of Colorado to do more of the same.

You can watch the full WAIT Training seminar video over at Boulder Community Media’s Vimeo page. Below are a few clips mentioned in this week’s story.

(Unlikely those links are still valid)…  Check out the rest of the article, which gives examples:

Donahue performs one of several optional in-school activities outlined in the WAIT Training curriculum. Here, she uses a piece of tape affixed and reaffixed to a young man’s arm to demonstrate how sex can ruin a teen’s ability to bond later in life to a spouse. Donahue also points out in this excerpt how the tape represents the girlfriend: once-clear, now tainted and covered with bits of the boy’s dried skin and hair (his DNA). Donahue repeated the process over and over again. Each time the tape — the girl — pulled up more debris and lost more of its ability to make a tight bond

How many “Competitive Abstinence Education” grantees across the country are still being paid to run the WAIT Curriculum?  

The “Hoover Vaccum”

Despite state and federal mandates that Title V recipients provide medically accurate information, WAIT Training’s Shelly Donahue tells Loveland High School students that if sperm gets anywhere near a girl’s vagina, her vagina will turn into a “little Hoover vacuum” to suck it up.

Again, it is primarily existing courtesy federal (and some, other levels — state or county I guess) contributions, and supposedly NOT running a profitable business, courtesy the taxpayers, tax-exempt, and without admitting to the profits. But, that certainly does appear to be what it’s doing.

This next, “background-color: white” (vs. “seashell” as you see here) section was from the draft of that post (“Despite Truly Funky Tax Returns, HHS Remains Loyal (2010-2015) to One Faith-Based (under Two Diff’t EIN#s, ONE of which the IRS acknowledges#) in Stone Mountain–or is it Conyers?– Georgia” or similar title. That link will not be active for the public, though I supplied it from the draft, until published).

I pulled in its intro to set a context including the Red Herring Alert link for this post.

Underneath this section, I talk for a while in general terms about factors influencing public policy affecting the family courts and where they tend to come from — including sponsored centers at universities and famous personalities (in social science, psychology, and occasionally law) to go with it.  This includes at least acknowledging these exist.

For example, the influence of the Ford Foundation and it’s “Strengthening Fragile Families Initiative” which followed  Ronald Mincy, Ph.D. into Columbia University where another center was set up, it says, in 2007 (Interesting — another reauthorization and multi-million-dollar set of Healthy Marriage/Responsible Fatherhood (HMRF) occurred in 2006, along with reauthorization of the federal budget in 2005, I believe that was “Deficit Reduction Act,” right?).

And I reference the first overtly, then less overly, father-friendly “CFFPP” and its name change, as well as that it was indeed a project of the Ford Foundation to implement Strengthening Fragile Families,” as well as significant Kellogg Foundation influence in some of the original professional’s background and academic educations.  And a few other “fatherhood”networks.  The thing is — centers are universities have sponsors from large tax-exempt foundations.  These same foundations also directly sponsor their favorite sets of nonprofits as well, in association with government.   And the OVERALL theme is fatherhood/marriage.

To the extent that domestic violence prevention (notice it doesn’t say “prosecution” but “prevention” although obviously some is going to be involved……) influential organizations ARE influential, in the past few decades, from what I can tell, they have influence — and funding — to the extent that they cooperate with “fatherhood practitioners” agenda, a large part of which is reframing “domestic violence” as a social problem more than a crime. This brings in the social science experts (helps make careers) and the HHS funding.

Ironically, HHS itself funds both fatherhood grants (to a much larger extent) and violence prevention grants (to a much SMALLER extent, discretionary, and not particularly going most of them to shelters any more).  Is it any surprise then, to see cases like the Grazzini-Rucki case where what happened has to be reframed as parental alienation, and the mother reporting domestic violence, stigmatized, punished, and terrorized (see 1/23/2016 post) as well as the runaway children reunified with their father.

If women start actually being able to separate AND stay separate from serious marital abuse and violence, including death threats, and another generation of children learns that it really is NOT acceptable under any circumstances to physically assault, threaten, or terrorize one’s spouse (or children by doing so or directly) — THAT would be a new day.  Why federal social policy is so intent that this NOT take place, while funding programs claiming they will be making it happen is a message in itself that continual social conflict is a desired outcome.  Obviously, a population that is constantly fighting itself is less like to unite and fight any oppressive government.

Once you start to follow the organizations moving the public, and the private money in these fields,  things will start to make more sense..

ANYHOW — when you see the identical section again on this post — the original “Early Morning Intuitive” I keep talking about is below, also marked with a large title.  That section is less about those grants than about AFCC and a few related situations, including what types of organizations acrually control the informational databases we rely on to see where our public funds went. Such as, ex-military contractors, privatized…. Hmm.

Continuing re: the Grazzini-Rucki case, and family court cases in general:

Wealth on one or both sides of any family line has rarely been an impediment to this court system stripping one (or both) sides of it in a single divorce/custody (and so much the better if there’s been domestic violence, and and the associated, inherent conflict in one side saying it happened, and the accused side (on which side, FYI, family courts typically weigh in on) and the other saying it didn’t, and what about “parental alienation” (a classic distraction technique)… Sometimes both sides may be completely denuded of any resources, or the ability to work, however a more common scenarios seems to be where the court orders one side already bankrupt, or close to it (coincidentally through some of the prior decision-making IN the same family court system) to simply pay off the other side.

Further “clouding” the issues — as no doubt this was intended to — is the nationwide, universal, proclivity for established institutions (I’m talking Universities, Congress, and by and large — faith-based-organizations a.k.a., the religious) to complain about uppity, family-breaking, DV-reporting, and otherwise separating MOTHERS, as a class.

Further confusing THIS issue is how often men AND women in positions of power (such as — Mainstream Media, University Academia, and women judges, lawyers, and custody-evaluators) have no problem putting down their own gender in perservation of the perception of “neutrality” to the status quo. It’s not as simple as “what gender is he/she — well they are for/against “my” cause.”

Many of these just do not belong to the same social class — and absolutely do not belong to the same professional circles as the average person, or couple, or family being run through the family court gauntlet. The perspective is simply not the same, either intellectually, or instinctively.

• Time to admit that the words “Domestic Violence” have remained, the context, and application, has significantly changed over time.
• A run-on section laying out some of this, but for the links, see elsewhere on the blog, and on the Internet.
• University Based Centers, Institutes, etc. without distinct TRACKABLE funding base, but which are taking both substantial private foundation AND public money, are part of the players in HOW domestic violence is viewed and handled, nationwide (and beyond).
• These centers (and they are typical of many universities) house the academics who IN CERTAIN FIELDS are more than likely to show C.V.s’ primarily or largely sponsored by HHS money, or if before 1980, HEW money — along side private corporate wealth housed in tax-exempt foundations. Common to many of these is the LACK of interest in “the word from the street” unless it already fits into existing policy, and LACK of consequences for when any sponsored, promoted, and successfully passed agenda ends up getting people homeless, bankrupt, or deceased — as it pertains specifically, to custody and divorce issues, including those where abuse has been named or found.

So — anyone (besides me, in my “free time,”) who wants to go through the University of Minnesota financial statements (both CAFR and more detailed budgetary accounts or analysis) please feel free to find me what is allocated to an “Institute” under the School of Welfare called IDVAAC.

Also recommended — try this over at Temple University for the FRPN (Fatherhood Research and Practice Network), over at Columbia University for the NCOFF (National Center on Fathers and Families” I believe it’s called), and quite a few other centers of similar name at various universities nation-wide, who have concerned themselves (whether under social science, under Education (I heard there was another at the University of Pennsvylvania under the GSE — see some of the membership of the one at Temple University), and so forth.

To reference this, just briefly:

Further complicating ALL of the above is what I (Let’s Get Honest) have chosen to call the DV Cartel– including some significant nonprofits and associated professionals, including at least one deceased progressive Senator and his faithful wife (the Wellstones) — who decide to shake hands with the “responsible fatherhood” grants-based movement as expressed in the virtual takeover of the battered women’s and any feminist movement.

Women employees or those on the board of directors may lead and are typically contacted after the latest DV homicide-suicide, alleged (there was one in North Las Vegas, Nevada — May 5, 2016, as I speak.  A 27 year old woman and 40 year old man were “found dead” outside a daycare after “shots were heard,” a weapon was recovered at the scene, and the couple’s children, a three-year old and a four-year-old, girl and boy, are now orphans.)  But the Tax Returns show the grants and the programming — and that grants and programming consistently shows strategic cooperation with the DEcriminalization of domestic violence and RE-description of it as a social science and demographics problem, a welfare-problem, and with lead agencies and professionals — and I will continue to name two of them (both men) who for years (and one, still) have been ensconced as professors at University of Minnesota (Minneapolis Campus)’ “School of Social Welfare.”  And those are Jeffrey L. Edleson (who co-authored “the Greenbook” in 1999 which was published by a judicial membership organization, NCJFCJ, and then became the basis for a major “pilot project” on how to intervene in “Domestic Violence and Child Maltreatment.”  This project, the Greenbook Initiative, then placed two major US Federal agencies (US/HHS and US/DOJ) along with several major tax-exempt foundations— at least one of them (ICF International) — on the federal “dole” (as contractor and grantee both) and significant, as to ICF, in promoting “healthy marriage and responsible fatherhood.”

The other Minnesota-based (still) individual represents the culturally-sensitive blend of “Domestic Violence” concern with “Responsible Fatherhood” (Grantmaking!) at a Center for which NO known business entity (such as 501©3), and — so far– no known sub-part of the humongous research institution and constitutional corporation, literally an arm of the State of Minnesota, called the University of Minnesota.

I am referring to Oliver J. Williams, Ph.D. and the Steering Committee and Leadership (Executive Staff or whatever it’s called, I do not have it memorized) at IDVAAC. Among that leadership is a man who for years was working in Maryland distributing responsible fatherhood grants programs, but lately, it says, is now working for the “Vera Institute of Justice,” namely Johnny Rice II, Ph.D.

IDVAAC is also cited by the OVW (which implements VAWA- based, that’s “Violence Against Women Act” (first passed 1994, several amendments have been passed since) USDOJ-administered grants, including some I believe they are called entitlement or block grants, but the MAJORITY of these are called “Discretionary.”  Among these were some in 2013 for “Court Improvement” and on the TAT (Technical Assistance and Training) was, “IDVAAC” which is — literally — a non-entity posing as an entity.  I posted on this in 2016 (“Caught up in?…Get Caught Up On….”).

I have found even Esta Soler’s (head of the well-known “Futures without Violence” in San Francisco, formerly “Family Violence Prevention Fund” — a $40+-million-dollar outfit) ALSO on the board of Wisconsin (domicile) “CFFPP” which was formerly called “Center for Father and Families Public Policy” but renamed itself to omit the word “fathers” from at least the title (if not the contents) of the nonprofit.  This 1995-founded (it says) nonprofit actually is called an “Arm of the Ford-Foundation Funded Strengthening Fragile Families Initiative”

Here’s a publication showing the prior name, the board, the organization description.  Notice Oliver Williams is also on there and that at this time, the title included the word Fathers.  More to the point, the Ford Foundation (talk about major influence on public policy!!!) was originally behind it as it is or at least was behind many other MAJOR social science demonstration projects being run, sometimes “unawares,” although not completely hidden (if you read this type of material as part of a daily, weekly, or monthly information diet — which I’ll bet MOST American’s don’t….) on the population, ESPECIALLY any low-income population, and I’m referring to MDRC.

Also I believe it is the Ford Foundation (and not Rockefellers) who first funded the “Fund for the City of New York” (ca. 1968) which now is running a joint innovation project with an entire STATE (and that state is New York!)’s “Unified Court System — called “TheCenter for Court Innovation.” (Minnesotans –go look up Kearns County Domestic Violence Felony Court and find there’s a connection to the NY Center).

So when a smallish nonprofit (such as CFFPP) with major players in the domestic violence and fatherhood (or and/or “poverty”) fields with a focus on ethnicity is being backed by something as large as the Ford Foundation, should we not take notice of it, and talk about it?  Even if only finding out a decade– or four– after the fact?

• http://cffpp.org/publications/TA_Father_PubPolicy.pdf   This 2003 (I guess it’s a kind of “brief”) has these names and organization summary on the preface:

Board of Directors
Esta Soler • Interim Chairperson, Family Violence Prevention Fund

Tanvir Mangat • Treasurer, Private Consultant
Margaret Stapleton, J.D. • Secretary, National Center on Poverty Law Adrienne Brooks • Private Consultant
Carole Doeppers • Consumer and Health Privacy Consultant
Earl S. Johnson, Ph.D. • California Health and Human Services Agency John Rich, M.D., M.P.H. • Boston Public Health Commission Beth Richie, Ph.D. • University of Illinois at Chicago
Gerald A. Smith • IBM
Oliver Williams, Ph.D. • University of Minnesota•

CFFPP

Staff
Jacquelyn Boggess, J.D. • Senior Policy Analyst Rebecca May • Policy Analyst
Louisa Medaris • Office Manager
David Pate, Ph.D. • Executive Director Marguerite Roulet, Ph.D. • Research Associate Scott Sussman, J.D. • Legal Analyst

•The Center on Fathers, Families and Public Policy is a national nonprofit policy organization that addresses the concerns of low-income families who receive federal and state assistance. Founded in 1995 as a policy arm of the Ford Foundation-supported Strengthening Fragile Families Initiative, the Center works with practitioners, researchers, and policy advocates throughout the country to promote the well-being of low-income men, their children, and their families.** The Center provides technical assistance to direct service organizations, analysis of legislative and policy initiatives that affect low- income families, and advocacy for the creation of holistic laws that are supportive of all members of low-income families, whether or not they live together or are legally married.

Generally speaking, it takes a woman to have a child, however any pronoun referring to the female gender (i.e., the word “mothers” or even “women”) is strategically omitted from this description.

Compare to a center at Columbia University with similar name, and similar backing (i.e., coming out of Ford Foundation backing under that title):

The Center for Research on Fathers, Children and Family Well-Being’s mission is to expand the knowledge base on the role of fathers (and father figures) in the lives of disadvantaged children and the processes by which nonresident fathers (and father figures) affect child development and family well-being.  (http://crfcfw.columbia.edu/about/)

CRFCFW was established in 2007 by Dr. Ronald B. Mincy.

Here’s some information about the CRFCFW team. (photo below — one woman is missing from the photo).  You can see that the “SFFI” (Strengthening Fragile Families Initiative) came from his former employment at the Ford Foundation, and there’s referenced a similar, but not identical, center at Columbia with further studies along these lines.  He is Harvard & MIT, what I’m wondering is why the last sentences describe him as “married for 30 years” but barely (and rarely) seems to mention his wife’s name or, in general, his mother although SOMEHOW he made it through Harvard and MIT.  Perhaps mother was not a basket case?  But it’s been “fathers” ever since, period.   Comes with the territory? She is Adjunct Faculty/Assistant Professor at Columbia, according to this  (http://socialwork.crosscomm.net/faculty/adjunct-faculty) and good enough to be listed as a speaker at the “4th Annual Caribbean Fathers & Families Coalition of America”  alongside people who have run other HHS “HMRF” grants-funded organizations, I see (Dr. Carolyn Curtis of CA):

Faculty The 4th Annual Caribbean Healthy Fathers & Families Conference

The 4th Annual Caribbean Healthy Fathers & Families Conference Kingston, Jamaica June 21 & 22, 2016

Fathers & Families Coalition of America to host our fourth Caribe event with international experts, regional leaders and our Jamaica Affiliate of Fathers & Families Coalition of America to support the ongoing training needs for providers and parents. The Regional Conference is an opportunity to build a base to improve policy, services, resources, professional development, capacity building assistance to improve outcomes for children and families. Featured Speakers Dr. Ronald B. Mincy, Sr.-Columbia University Dr. Allan McCray-Life Impact Dr. Obie Clayton-Clark Atlanta University Dr. Percy Ricketts, LMHC, NCC Dr. Aida Díaz-Asociación de Maestro de Puerto Rico Dr. Carolyn Curtis-Sacramento, California Dr. Fiona Mincy-New York City, NY Ms. Anayra Túa López-Proyecto Nacer, Bayamon, PR Mr. Andre Harrison-Role Call, Staten Island, NY

From same sign-up website link, “Fathers & Families Coalition of America” –a bout whose corporate identy and fiscal behavior (EIN# was automatically revoked after failing to file for 3 years in a row, by the IRS — but meanwhile they’d been (a) apparently advertising under a DIFFERENT EIN# on their publications and (b) having been for a long time a “dba” of an organization which had the word “Arizona” in its own legal business name, and which (their own site admits) wasn’t even incorporated until 2004, despite having been around and apparently functioning (conferencing) since 1994, the IRS delayed publicizing that “Fathers & Families Coalition of America” (as a dba or as itself– while the IRS was NOT publishing its former real — but revoked — EIN#, changed its name to what is seen currently), meanwhile I have not been able to locate NOT ONE tax return of either named organization, EVER.  (I have discussed this also with other investigative bloggers on these things). I don’t know that one was ever filed.

Now– consider this next — apparently another institute (by FFCA) is going to happen this coming July in either San Diego or NJ (or both — both locations are referenced with similar, but not identical institute titles):

Jul 28 – 29, 2016

Interfaith & Nonprofit Leadership Conference | Without Borders-Restoration of Families

Over the past five years, Fathers & Families Coalition of America with its local Affiliate Agencies has provided continuous improvement training introducing evidence based practices and emerging models of strengthening families’ services. In 2016, our partnerships have expanded with leadership from St. Stephen’s Cathedral Church of God in Christ, Life Impact, LLC, Livingstone Cathedral and numerous regional FFCA Affiliate Agencies to host 2-day conference for aspiring leaders from nonprofit and ecumenical entities. Highlighted Speakers Dr. Jannah Scott, Deputy Director, Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC Hon. Joyce Thomas, Regional Administrator, Administration for Children and Families Region II, New York City, NY Special Leadership Program |D.I.S.C. Analysis & Coaching Taking Us to the Next Level

My point:  If professionals THAT high in the HHS (or Homeland Security) hierarchy are continually supporting the FFCA conferences by showing up at them (which I know they have been from plenty of material on the web), what does this say about HHS’ leadership (and, Homeland Security’s) “Concern” for the organization’s repeated failure to file and advertising itself on, apparently, a fake EIN#?

If I could identify this problem, I should think that either HHS or that Dept of Homeland Security (BOTH of whom, incidentally, and per some HTML I have on the blog which tracks this) seem to have been on my site, as well as repeated visits from one or another of the DOD (Dept. of Defense) Information Network.) — then I believe that any competent, attentive individuals at those agencies also could have.

But apparently, they didn’t — and the IRS went out of its way NOT to expose FFCA’s fiscal misbehavior for SIX YEARS after status revoked (by them) took place… then I feel it’s fair to say, “Houston, we have a problem….” I think it’s time to look at the entire setup as facilitation tax evasion and money-laundering, along with the population behavioral modifications (“get and stay married when child-bearing, and if you’re a hormone-laden adolescent, seriously consider abstinence– we will be running classes at your local public schools, starting in middle school; and women — COOL IT on the domestic violence reporting, OK?  That doesn’t let you off co-parenting with a man that may have threatened to kill you, and thanks to us, may still have the means and opportunity to do so”) that all this is, under WELFARE REFORM, and NATIONAL DEBT REDUCTION, and HELPING POOR PEOPLE,  is  supposed to facilitate. 

Dr. Mincy’s wife’s very low profile (when he is speaking or being written about, anyhow) reminds me of another married couple professorship, although at Columbia for one, and Princeton, for the other.  Irwin Garfinkel (also, I believe, Columbia School of Social Work and likewise famous for it) is married to Sara McLaughlan (wife — working at Princeton University — and collaborabing often through another center THERE with Brooking Institution’s (Major nonprofit, educational, since 1939) and ITS “Center of Families and Children” or similar term — Ron Haskins & Isabel Sawhill (Ron Haskins is — or should be– well known for his role in welfare reform and SPECIFICALLY pushing for the Access/Visitation Grants.

Below as you can see, Dr. Mincy was He was also cited by the National Fatherhood Leadership Group (a DC nonprofit, current, former, or status revoked, I DNK — but I DO know that when I went looking for their website to see the related fatherhood groups mentioned on it — it came up “Website Domain Expired 4/12/2016.”  I had looked only 4/16/2016…..) Oh well!)

Dr. Ronald B. Mincy is the Director of the Center for Research on Fathers, Children and Family Well-Being and the Maurice V. Russell Professor of Social Policy and Social Work Practice at the Columbia University School of Social Work. He teaches graduate courses on social welfare policy, program evaluation, and microeconomics, and a doctoral seminar on causal inference. He has published widely on the effects of income security policy on child and family poverty, family formation, and child well-being; responsible fatherhood, the urban underclass, and urban poverty. Prior to joining the Columbia faculty, Mincy was Senior Program Officer in the Ford Foundation’s Human development and Reproductive Health Program, where he developed the Strengthening Fragile Families Initiative (SFFI). SFFI was a Ford Foundation grantmaking initiative working with federal, state, and local human service agencies to reform income security policies to enable low-income mothers and fathers to provide emotional, financial, and development support to their children receiving welfare. As a result of SFFI, Mincy is widely regarded as a critical catalyst for changes currently underway in the treatment of low-income fathers by U.S. welfare, child support, and family support systems.

Mincy is a co-principal investigator for the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study a birth cohort study of children born to unmarried parents, which is nationally representative of births in large cities. His most recent book Black Males Left Behind, examines the consequences of the 1990s economic boom for less-educated men.

Dr. Mincy is an advisory board member for the National Poverty Center; the African American Healthy Marriage Initiative; (that’ another HHS-sponsored project!) Transition to Fatherhood; the National Fatherhood Leadership Group; the Longitudinal Evaluation of the Harlem Children’s Zone; The Economic Mobility Project, Pew Charitable Trusts; the Mac Arthur Network on Family and the Economy, and Governor Paterson’s Task Force on Juvenile Justice

Dr. Mincy’s undergraduate and graduate training in economics were at Harvard and M.I.T. He and his wife, Flona Mincy, have been married for more than thirty years and live in Harlem, New York. They have two sons