Transparency is a fundamental issue with the Escambia Children’s Trust. There is no one place an Escambia County resident can find all the information regarding a provider, such as New World Believers.
- The public is forced to hunt through the meeting packets to find information on the proposal, contract, renewals, metrics, site visit reports, budgets, financial reports and tax returns. And when those expeditions are unsuccessful, the taxpayer must make public record requests.
Most discussions of the programs funded by the Trust take place in committee meetings, which aren’t streamed and whose minutes are sparse. Other discussions happen with individual board members in private.
New World Believers
The Trust staff appears to have ignored several clauses of its contract with NWB. Read YR3-FULLY_EXECUTED_NWB-Hoops
Background Checks: The grant agreement also requires a national Level 2 background check for employees with access to youth. One nonprofit leader shared with me that the background checks might not have disclosed the arrest records of the Jones family members working for NWB.
- However, Trust Executive Director Lindsey Cannon told her board this month: “There is a breach of contract related to background screenings that we’ve discovered through this process.”
- An HR expert shared that the best policy would be for the Trust to maintain the background reports. No one gets paid without one on file.
Anti-Nepotism: The contract states NWB must have a written anti-nepotism policy in place and provide it to the Trust. However, the policy doesn’t say hiring family is a breach of the contract. Six members of the Jones family worked at NWB, and NWB proved its anti-nepotism policy. How long as the Trust known this? Why didn’t they raise the potential dangers in a board meeting? Read HOOPS Nepotism Letter
Conflict of Interest: Members of the board of directors cannot receive, directly or indirectly, any funds paid by the Trust. The corporate report lists Radajeline Jones as a board member. She works as an aftercare coordinator. It’s unclear whether Rodney Jones was a board member. Read 2025 Reinstatement.
Audit and Management Letter: When NWB received more than $500K in a year, it needed to provide financial statements reviewed or audited by an independent CPA.
- When NWB received less than $500K in a year, it needed to provide financial statements audited by an independent CPA or reviewed consistent with AICPA Standards for Government/Non-Profit and also upload the three most recent 990s.
- The financial report provided was not done by a CPA and states the auditors “conducted the audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing,” which aren’t AICPA standards. Read NWB Audit.
Tax Questions: The accountant used the incorrect Form 990. NWB submitted a Form 990-EZ, but that form can only be used for nonprofits with gross receipts less than $200,000. NWB received $392,190 in 2024. Read NWB_990-2024
- The $392K appears to be all from the Trust. Where is the money from the Department of Juvenile Justice? Did anyone at the Trust compare the Form 990 with the Trust’s distribution records?
- The Form 990 EZ for 2024 states it has negative $492,190 in net assets (which are given as all liabilities). It says Rodney Jones only works 20 hours a week for no pay. However, the budget says he works 40 hours and is paid $59,876.
In December 2025, the Trust Board approved renewing the grant for a third year, $585,685. The approved budget deleted all funding for accounting and auditing ($17,636.04). How does the Trust expect NWB to pay for a CPA or any accounting? Read Hoops Yr 3 Review.