Escambia County’s website shows that the Escambia Children’s Trust has scheduled an emergency board meeting for 11 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 30. The agenda link provides no information about the meeting. However, I have been told the meeting is about canceling the third year of the Trust’s mental health services contract with New World Believers.
In December, the board awarded New World Believers $585,685 for its H.O.O.P.S. (Healthy Opportunities and Options Promoting Success) mental health program. On Jan. 13, the Board approved Executive Director Lindsey Cannon suspending the grant after NWB officials notified her that NWB founder Rodney Jones was under investigation by the Department of Juvenile Justice.
Megan Fry of Clark Partington serves as the board’s attorney. She detailed multiple potential breaches, including:
- Failure to comply with background screening requirements
- Failure to provide services outlined in the scope of work
- Failure to maintain or furnish certificates of insurance
- Potential failure to comply with child abuse and incident reporting requirements
“I think it’s fair to say we don’t yet know if that occurred or did not occur, but the background screening has become the immediate issue,” Fry said.
- Odd: The contract is signed by NEW CEO Romeo Jones and Board member Calvin Avant on Dec. 12, 2025. Board chair Rex Northup signed it on Jan. 16, 2026, three days after the board vote and knowing NWB wasn’t in compliance. Cannon’s signature is dated Jan. 16, 2025, which may be an error on her part. See YR3-FULLY_EXECUTED_NWB-Hoops.
Immediate Trust Pressures
Recent coverage details that New World Believers’ H.O.O.P.S. program, which has received more than $900,000 from the Trust since 2023, is at the center of a widening criminal case.
- Executive director Rodney Jones is charged with sexual battery of a teenage girl who was in H.O.O.P.S. while on DJJ probation, with alleged repeated assaults and payments tied to her participation.
- Three of his adult children face obstruction/witness tampering charges, including an allegation that son Rodrico offered $10,000 for the victim to recant, and multiple attempts by family members to pressure the victim’s family at home and in public.
Given this, likely emergency-meeting reasons include:
- Formalizing or extending the suspension/termination of the H.O.O.P.S./New World Believers grant contracts and deciding what happens with remaining obligated funds.
- Addressing oversight failures and risk exposure: how a high-dollar youth program with DJJ-involved teens became the site of alleged serial abuse without earlier intervention.
- Discussing legal, insurance, and reputational risk to the Trust, including potential civil exposure from having funded the program.
The meeting will be held at the Escambia Children’s Trust offices on the Pensacola State College, unless the county allows the board to use the county commission chambers.