Clark County OIC director says DOJ grant termination disrupted violence-prevention work, outlines community services

Leslie Crew, executive director of Clark County OIC (Opportunities Industrialization Center Springfield), told the Springfield City Commission at an informal work session that a Department of Justice grant for a community violence intervention and prevention initiative was terminated shortly after a budget revision was approved and that OIC has an appeal pending.

The matter matters to residents because OIC administers several direct services in Springfield and Clark County — including home energy assistance, vocational training and an alternative school for credit recovery — and Crew said the grant termination interrupted implementation of a multi-agency violence-prevention strategy that OIC had been coordinating.

Crew said OIC was awarded the federal grant in 2023 and served as the fiduciary agent for nine partner organizations working on the community violence intervention and prevention initiative, including Springfield City Police, Clark County Juvenile Court, Springfield City School District, Clark County Sheriff’s Department, Springfield Foundation, the Mental Health & Recovery Board of Clark, Greene and Madison Counties, Clark County Combined Health District and the local NAACP. Case Western Reserve University conducted a community needs assessment for the project, Crew said. She said OIC submitted a budget revision in November 2024, received approval for that revision on 04/16/2025, and that the grant was terminated six days later. “We handled ourselves with all the mandatory requirements of that grant,” Crew said.

Crew provided a brief accounting tied to the grant work: she said OIC has spent about $400,000 on consultant fees, the community needs evaluation, the coordinator, project and fiscal oversight and that OIC paid roughly $40,000 in April that is now on hold due to the termination. She said OIC filed an appeal on April 30. Crew also described OIC’s ARPA work administering funds on behalf of Sheltered Inc.; since 2023, she said, OIC processed 1,041 applications and distributed $1,300,000 in reimbursements to Sheltered Inc. for homelessness services.

Beyond the terminated DOJ grant, Crew summarized ongoing programs. She said the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) has summer and winter components, that the program served more than 3,100 clients in the last fiscal year and that OIC distributed over $210,000 in assistance. Crew said the HEAP office is at 600 West Main Street and is open 8 a.m.–12 p.m., then 1 p.m.–5 p.m.; she described a drive-through drop-off for documentation and case managers who help complete packets. Crew also described adult workforce training (including CLA/CLT and forklift certification, translation services and partnerships for career placement) run at the Urban Training Center, 26 South Ellis Street, and an alternative Learning Opportunity Center for credit recovery for youth ages 16–21 at 10 South Yellow Spring Street.

Commissioners praised OIC’s work and asked for updates. Dr. Estrop, a commissioner, said the organization’s programs are “critical for our community” and encouraged expanded partnership with schools and other agencies. Another commissioner asked Crew to update the commission if she receives further information about the Department of Justice appeal.

No formal action on OIC programs was taken at the meeting; the only recorded vote was a routine motion to adjourn the work session, which passed on a roll call vote.

Crew closed by urging residents to support local service organizations and to volunteer, join boards or participate in local leadership and service programs.