Stealing is wrong in any form. But, there’s something particularly pernicious about the rich stealing from the impoverished, akin to kicking a person when he or she is already down. This style of stealing might be called “Nibor Dooh,” because, after all, it is the polar opposite of what “Robin Hood” built his reputation around. When millions of dollars intended for social causes—AIDS, Homelessness, Community Mental Health, Veterans, and others—are mishandled with gross negligence and administrative ineptitude, the result is nothing less than the wealthy taking resources from the poor. Money intended to help a lot of people with legitimate needs ends up in the pockets of a few people who likely don’t understand what real needs are (and, no, a BMW doesn’t count as a “real need.”).
The Washington Post recently ran an article (see here) about Ms. Robin Beale, whose organization was given millions of dollars to oversee HIV/AIDS dollars in the D.C. area. The punch-line of the story—more like a punch-in-the-stomach-line of the story—is that millions of dollars intended for the benefit of HIV/AIDS are now unaccounted for, and that moneys that are accounted for have been used to pay for office space (up to $10,000 per month), office furniture ($106,000), and unnamed staff members. Making matters more curious, Ms. Beale apparently has a 2005 conviction in a federal court for a mortgage fraud scheme, and her organization provides information technology and general construction services…a pretty far cry from competency in social services, let alone knowing how to manage millions of dollars in social services. Of course, there are lots of fingers being pointed in many directions. But, in many ways, that’s irrelevant because the bottom line is the same: A group of people somewhere now has more Federal money meant for HIV/AIDS assistance—your tax dollars—in their bank accounts, while another group of people affected by HIV/AIDS now has fewer services, fewer resources, and less community support. Well, Nibor Dooh, it seems you managed to get away with it again…rob from the poor, so you can give to the rich.
I have all sorts of takeaways from this story. First, it ticks me off. It’s selfish, arrogant, and totally contradictory to the values upon which social work and social services are built (see NASW Code of Ethics to know how it should be). Second, organizations spending federal money—our Tax dollars at work (or not)—need greater accountability. I wish we could just trust organizations, but experience and problems with recent federal payouts indicate that we can’t. What we can do, however, is trust AND verify. We need to get back to doing business with a hand-shake, along with a cuff-shake…We shake hands, and then take the organization by the cuff of the pant leg, turn it upside down, and vigorously shake it until every last penny is accounted for. The last takeaway I’ll point out is that you shouldn’t hire a construction firm to oversee money for HIV/AIDS. Hire professionals with experience who understand the market you serve. Unless, of course, you plan to demolish deserving organizations that help people with HIV/AIDS…in that case, severe money mismanagement OR a construction firm (or both!) would take care of that destruction just fine.
Accountability and experience are key benefits of ClientTrack; this is why what we do is so important. We help funding sources make sure their dollars are wisely spent, and we help recipients of funds track and report the use of their funds with simplicity. We’ve got over 10 years of experience—thousands upon thousands of hours—working with social service organizations, and providing the software solutions they need to be most effective.