Let's Get Honest! Absolutely Uncommon Analysis of Family & Conciliation Courts' Operations, Practices, & History

Sample from TAGGS.HHS.gov Advanced search (name search for CFFP as potential direct recipient of such funds, that links saves the search specs, not the data). I discovered a new $2.0M/year grant to a longstanding (grants since 2006 shown) The South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families, shows grants 2006-2011, then a gap, then starting again in 2015, called “Destination Fatherhood.” (notice various award titles over time).  Entities that got grants under 93.086 also often obtain related-purpose grants under other CFDA#s.  On that link, the CFDA#93601 shows is “Child Support Enforcement Demonstrations and Special Projects“)(First two digits “93” representing the Department HHS overall) .

TAGGS grantee list, taken Nov 28, 2017, for South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families. Click IMAGE to enlarge, or here (http://tinyurl.com/y7nteayj) to re-run the search (same specs and column headers, but if data changes meanwhile, so will the results. That version will be sortable by column headers, and clickable where you see active links).

While this represents only public grants, and for the most part, the different entity “CFFPP” mentioned in this title doesn’t seem to be funded primarily by public (HHS-originated) grants, although some state-level gov’t entities are listed among its funders then, and now, every professional IN this created field of “fatherhood policy and practice” likely knows that such grants exist, and many individuals are involved either as board members and/or founders, or as consultants TO such HHS CFDA 93086-funded organizations.  Nonprofits for years have been formed, and still are, specifically to engage as intermediary (passing grants through) or destination (final recipient providing some kind of services) for such grant-making (or evaluating results of the same), and then networked if not fiscally at least by reference so as to refer to their other accomplishments in the field on the board member of some different organization, i.e., career-building and credibility as an expert in the field, regardless of performance of the underlying nonprofits individually, or in their networks.  {{for examples of this regarding “CFFPP” see bottom of this post, which posts the biographies of board members.  For example:  of Guy Bowling:

[This next subsection’s background color is altered to signify the sub-section is not about the groups in South Carolina (in the light-green-blue background you see for this paragraph and above], but as an example of how just naming an association or affiliation can be misleading — or is at a minimum “not enough information.” The moral of the story?  when someone’s bio blurb spits out a series of references, especially in the HMRF field (Healthy Marriage/Responsible Fatherhood] either “take it on faith” or “look it up.”  That also holds for domestic violence advocacy groups. Studying both sides of the cause-based rhetoric, in fact, is one way to find where leadership or advocacy groups are (speaking metaphorically! not literally) “in bed with each other” and collaborating (cutting deals) with each other on what is, and is not, classified as, specifically, abuse. Among other things.  

Generally, “taking it on faith” is not recommended, if the subject is of concern to you as a reader!  For example, see this next example:

 

GUY BOWLING {{<== link to CFFPP website checked Nov. 2017}}

Guy Bowling is the Program Manager for the FATHER Project, a program of Goodwill/ Easter Seals Minnesota. Mr. Bowling has been a leader in the fatherhood field for 18 years with a special focus on working with low-income, non-custodial fathers in culturally specific communities. He has been the Manager of the FATHER Project since 1999. In that role, he oversaw the successful implementation of a five-year $2.5 million grant project funded through the federal Department of Health and Human Services, through the Office of Family Assistance (OFA). He remains in that role as the FATHER Project has received a one-year, $1.7 million grant award from OFA to expand its proven service model across Minnesota. He received the 2001 “Spirit of Fatherhood” award at the National Center for Strategic Planning and Community Leadership’s (NPCL) Annual International Fatherhood conference.** He received the Ronald F. Johnson Award to be inducted into the Spirit of Fatherhood Hall of Fame in 2012 at the 14th annual NPCL conference. Guy was recently selected as an emerging leader to participate in the National Practitioners Leadership Institute (NPLI). The NPLI Leadership Academy is designed to assist field leaders in growing their network and expertise in one or more of the following areas: Responsible Fatherhood, Family Stability, Workforce Development, and Black Male Achievement.

It’s probable (though not certain) that by “NPLI,” he means what’s now being called just “PLI” over at Baltimore’s CFUF (Center for Urban Fatherhood), and while “formally established in 2011” (Note: when another round of HHS HM/RF grants (CFDA 93086) were approved, as I blogged at the time, herein)  it’s still called an initiative of the other nonprofit, CFUF:

http://www.cfufpli.org

CFUF image, notice the subtitle, while the business name says “urban families” the focus is still on helping FATHERS (and families)..

Each year, the Center for Urban Families in Baltimore, MD is visited by social service and community-based organizations from across the country that wish to replicate its program models, by policy makers and community leaders interested in learning how responsible fatherhood, family services and workforce services directly affect the lives of those that participate, and by media outlets interested in featuring the organization’s successes.

Formally established in 2011, the Practitioners Leadership Institute (PLI) is a nationally focused initiative designed to provide Responsible Fatherhood, Workforce Development and Family Strengthening practitioners with experiences, skills and information that will strengthen their ability to improve outcomes for low-income fathers and families, impacting black male achievement.

CFUF Believes that men (who connect with women, children and “the workplace”) are key to restoration of (WHOSE — EVERYONE’s??) stability and optimism.**

Central to CFUF’s mission is the belief that men—the most disconnected and underserved citizens in urban communities—who connect with women, their children, and the workplace are key to the restoration of stability and optimism. Consistent with this mission, our organizational goal is to assist individuals in regaining the personal power needed to benefit their families and communities.

Since 1999, CFUF has served over 26,000 vulnerable Baltimoreans providing the bridge that many have needed to attain stability, while emerging as a leader in the national conversation on responsible fatherhood and black male achievement.

**Assuming an about 50/50 ratio of men to women in this country (although women tend to live longer), what does that say about permission for women, or fully-functional women raising children NOT to have a connected male, for example, particularly after experiencing violence within a relationship from the father?   

Does this entity post its financials on the website?  No!  (It’s also apparently not been updated as to the “history” since presidential election of 2016). Image for the first (2013) such PLI notes cooperation of: OFA (i.e., federal department of HHS), Open Society Foundation (Baltimore is its US program home, I recall from prior study), and this nonprofit:

1st PLI summit held under “CFUF” of Baltimore…

ALSO ON THE BIO BLURB ABOVE: CFFPP’s Mr. Bowling appears to work for Goodwill Easter Seals in Minnesota; Goodwill is also a major fatherhood grants recipient in general.   For example, in just the 90FK00__ grant series referenced for the SC Center for Fathers and Families near top of this post, Goodwill recipients of those grants across Texas, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota totaled $12.7M grants just since 2011 (that “tinyurl” shortlink is sorted by grant#, or click any column header to sort by that field).  (“…/ESM” in award title column no doubt means “Easter Seals Minnesota”) Or, not restricting the grant # to “90FK” but to Goodwill in Minnesota only and the two CFDAS 93086 (marriage/fatherhood) and 93601 (Child Support) $1.7M grants do show up, $9M page total, although he is not listed as principal investigator at least on TAGGS.  Click to repeat that search). This only shows results 2006 forward (possibly because I specified by CFDA 93086).

Acronym finder (click image to access that search result on-line)

---

The NCPL (“National Center for Strategic Planning and Community Leadership” / Jeffrey M. Johnson) is (if I recall it right) in New York state, and another nonprofit — they do conferences, announce awards and honors, and this type of nonprofit sometimes also run “institutes” all focused on maintaining “Fatherhood Promotion” as a professional field, and lending it credibility– while the field is sponsored by a combination of federal grants AND private backing (including from groups sometimes as large as the George Soros’ “Open Society Foundations,” and others.  Acronym Finder says that the reference is its “former name” (possibly a spinoff?):

NCPL (I explored the website years ago, it’s not changed much) – “now moved to DC” and runs certification trainings in “building strong families,” etc.):  EIN# 521994048 — this is NOT an organization I would boast about my association with to anyone who is liable to ever look at its Forms 990! (Words consistently mis-spelled in “Program Service Accomplishments” obviously as a boilerplate situation, included:

workshop (“worksop”), leadership (“leardership”), strengthening (“strenghtening”) and fragile (“frazile”).

That’s in addition to: listing activities for which no $$ amounts are filled in (repeatedly); sometimes putting a board member’s name in the wrong column (under “Title”); major gaps in information; and it appears, functioning only so long as government grants were available, whether $200K or $400K, and then spending it on, typically, “Professional services” (Forms before 2008 ask for professional contractors paid over $50K; I saw FY2007? had Dr. Johnson — $75K and, possibly his wife or other relative, “Uriel Johnson” $75K — and no one else.  You’ve GOT to be kidding — but apparently someone isn’t, for this one):

Total results: 4. Search Again.

ORGANIZATION NAME	ST	YR	FORM	PP	TOTAL ASSETS	EIN
National Partnership for Community Leadership	DC	2015	990	17	$0.00	52-1994048
National Partnership for Community Leadership	DC	2013	990	12	$298.00	52-1994048
National Partnership for Community Leadership	DC	2013	990	18	$298.00	52-1994048
National Partnership for Community Leadership	DC	2010	990	20	$2,232.00	52-1994048

NCPL Image 1 of 3

NCPL Image 2 of 3, coaching nonprofits, etc.

NCPL Image 3 of 3, advertising a 2-day “strengthening families” certification, etc. date and time “TBD” (Click HERE for that URL)

---

Click on some of those returns.  Amazingly, in a year when it claimed to be receiving government grants ($40,000 — or more ,another year) and have 3 independently voting members on the board (on line1) and was signed by “Jeffery Johnson” — under “Key Officers, Directors, and trustees,” the word “NONE” was typed in, more than once.

Strangely, this one was revoked and reinstated on the same day in May, 2013, which the IRS posted the following October.  But it does not show up on a “revoked” list, although plenty of prior years tax returns are not found either on their own, or under Form 990-N filings.  The entity, “surprise, surprise” shows a 1996 start date…

EIN#521994048 (dba “NCPL”) tax return excerpts and an IRS “EOS” result showing instantaneous revocation/reinstatement May 2013.

EIN#521994048 (dba “NCPL”) tax return excerpts and an IRS “EOS” result showing instantaneous revocation/reinstatement May 2013.

EIN#521994048 (dba “NCPL”) tax return excerpts and an IRS “EOS” result showing instantaneous revocation/reinstatement May 2013.

(Back to the South Carolina situation, not including some (actually SIX (6) 3 photo, 3 re: IRS + 990 excerpts) images from NPCL which will overlap some with the text:)

Since I mentioned this South Carolina example from a recent “TAGGS” search, I of course looked up its tax returns, and was surprised to find that this 2002-created nonprofit is operating from Cleveland OH and has many related tax-exempt entities, only a few of which are even based in South Carolina — because it’s a health system associated with the “Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine” (i.e., religious, Catholic organization).  Originally (FY2002 Form 990), some of the officers were paid directly from “The SC Center for Fathers and Families” but now, it shows “0” employees (leadership is paid by “related entities” — although which of the dozen-plus ones, isn’t shown), and redistributes most of its receipts to six fatherhood programs throughout South Carolina.

SC Center for Fathers and Families listing at SC Charitable Registration Search

So it’s easily showing a good charitable profile — “98%” goes right to charities — in part by simply having related entities pay their (very nice, incidentally) leadership salaries.  It looks to be closer to about 33% admin overhead, from what the tax returns are showing.  Profile for 2015 from SC Charitable Registration (with disclaimer, it gets info from the SC Sec of State Annual Reports (which SOS doesn’t independently validate!) and the IRS Forms 990:

A FY2008 Form 990 (tax return) of the “South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families, Inc.” shows it’s controlled by a foundation (also based in OH) controlled by SCHS (Sisters of Charity Health System) associated with a religious women’s order (in Ohio too), takes credit for formation of its own grantees, i.e., the father-focused organizations.  While the much larger “Sisters of Charity Foundation” seems to give much smaller grants to various groups EXCEPT its spin-off Center for Fathers (and the State of South Carolina’s Social Services Department), once that(much smaller) SC Center for Fathers and Families gets the funding, year by year, it re-grants most of it in larger amounts (over $100, $200, sometimes $400K) to fewer organizations, giving them the “fatherhood promotion” edge in the state, I guess, with less than average transparency….

EIN# 364506347 SC CENTER FOR FATHERS AND FAMILIES, Direct recipient of $8.7M of HHS grants (2006-2017) mostly under health marriage/responsible fatherhood promotion (CFDA 93086, and if not, under Child Support Improvement programs for noncustodial parents, strangely, is run from Ohio (although legal domicile SC), something not reflected in the TAGGS.HHS.Gov database (see this generated link from an Advanced Search run Nov. 28, 2017) which locates it in SC. Regardless of location, what it’s doing is, as a grantmaking organization, funding (currently, and it seems recently) just six fatherhood programs across the state, thus concealing from direct observation of TAGGS without other research, where and on what these tax receipts from the federal “coffers” or at least appropriations, are actually being spent.

Form 990, Sched O Supplemental Info for SC Center for Fathers & Families (EIN# 365406347, an OH-based, SC Legal domicile-entity formed in 2002 and re-distributing HHS grants to six fatherhood programs throughout SC, with leadership paid by its related entities in the religious health system. Sole member is as shown on image — another foundation..

Total results: 3. Search Again. This “Sisters of Charity Fndtn of SC EIN#57-0708391” with $93.8M Gross Assets, spun off SC Center for Fathers and Families only in 2002.

This foundation, formed it says in 1983, is itself controlled by (has a “sole member”) of yet another, and its main income is from selling accumulated assets, almost all of which are held in “public traded investments. However (after all this writeup I finally went to the website) its own website says it was formed only in 1997 — meaning, it suddenly decided that “fatherhood engagement” was the way to go immediately after passage of 1996 PRWORA reform saying the same thing:

The Sisters of Charity Foundation, founded in 1996, serves the entire state addressing the root causes of poverty statewide through grant making, advocacy, and capacity building. The Foundation launched a statewide initiative in 1997 “Reducing Poverty through Father Re-Engagement” and [specifically, five years later] later established the SC Center for Fathers and Families to sustain the Initiative.

I finally went to the State of South Carolina, Business Entities search, and see that it goes back to 1937, with prior name “Providence Hospital Foundation.”  No images or further details are available at that site than the summary page, like this one:

SC Business Entity Search, Sisters of Charity showing 1937 founding (and in good standing)

Sisters of Charity Foundtn of SC (Bus entities search at SC State level) showing docts on file and prior name. Not that clicking on any will bring up a pdf image or further details.

Currently its website home page features (across top right) pro se modification of child support, visitation and “expungement” (see banner with dark-red background above the featured photo, “Need to Modify Your Child Support?” (next image w/ photo).

SCFathersandFamilies.com (see gray top margin of website for page title).

While it only grants out a small percentage of the total holdings — of just this one among its MANY related tax-exempt organizations — its two largest grants in FY2015 by far ($250K, $450K) were, respectively, to the South Carolina Dept of Social Services –i.e., a State government department —  (which elsewhere is stated as partnering with the fatherhood initiatives) and the above SC Center for Fathers and Families nonprofit created in 2002. Other grants (that year) were ALL of them, that I noticed, under $50K and many only $5- or $10K. The funded nonprofit (SC Center for Fathers and Families) is itself basically only receiving grants from (a) related entities (apparently this one) and (b) “government” year after year, while its employees’ income is reported from “related entities.”

Meanwhile, SC Center for Fathers and Families, once it gets those grants, is re-granting them to, according to some of the originating foundation’s descriptions, created by it in the first place.

So, if this organization is likewise funding the government funding SCFF or its fatherhood programs,  that does seem a bit circuitous!  I also saw references to involvement of Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Duke Endowment. Without reading the tax returns, I would not know this? A thorough follow-up would, for EACH such organization re-granting, to look up those grantees, or at least take core sampling of their legitimacy over time, and which programs they are running.  WHO’S EVER GOING TO DO THAT, OR HAS BEEN? is a point I wish to make in this post. It’s designed AND implemented in ways to logistically defeat monitoring of where the public (and private) funds actually went!

The above statements may make sense with a few annotated images which are below.  Know as you read that this is part of the larger CONTEXT of welfare reform, and proliferation of faith-based (in this case) controlled entities setting up their own nonprofits to commandeer more government grants and distribute them ‘where the sun don’t shine.  [I’d noticed this SC Center for years while researching TAGGS, so finally took a closer look this time. I had not noticed how deeply entrenched it is in (1) a health system, and (2) that health system and the associated religious order are focused on maintaining and supporting “Catholic women religious” (i.e., the sisters // nuns) in their ministries during a time when involvement is declining. There are also internal consistencies within the tax returns, with no formal preparers and no real outside contractors displayed throughout, it seems.]

Read the rest of this entry »