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Council briefed on proposed reprogramming of CDBG-CV funds after termination of contract with youth provider
Summary
City staff told council they plan to cancel the remaining balance of a CDBG-CV violence-prevention contract with JC Powell and move the funds to a domestic-violence program administered by Health and Human Services; reimbursements of $80,845.20 have already been paid and the unspent balance is $169,154.80.
City staff told the Jersey City Municipal Council at a July caucus meeting that they plan to terminate a CDBG-CV contract with JC Powell for youth violence-prevention services and reprogram the unspent funds to an HHS-run domestic-violence intervention program.
Why it matters: The decision affects how roughly $250,000 in HUD-awarded CARES Act community development dollars will be spent. Staff said failing to reprogram the funds would require returning the unspent balance to HUD.
What staff presented
Dasia (division of community development) explained that the original contract — a November 2023 award with a period of performance from Sept. 1, 2023, to Aug. 30, 2024, later extended through Nov. 30, 2024 — was for youth-focused violence-prevention services for gang-involved youth, gun-violence victims and youth with court-involved truancy. DCD paid $80,845.20 in eligible reimbursements to JC Powell; the remaining balance identified for cancellation is $169,154.80.
Dasia said the termination is a contract-administration decision, not a judgment on the organization’s broader community work. The division’s review concluded that some submitted expenses were outside the contract’s scope and that JC Powell did not submit sufficient cost-segregation documentation to support certain shared organizational expenses. An example cited in caucus: payments for a field trip the administrator determined did not meet the grant’s violence-prevention program requirements.
Where the money would go
DCD proposed moving the funds to the city Department of Health and Human Services to support ‘‘Peaceful Families,’’ a court-ordered domestic-violence intervention program tied to Superior Court referrals. Staff said the program includes trained facilitators, a 12-week curriculum (online and/or in-person) and reporting to judges on completion. Part of the reassigned funds would also cover city staff salaries for program administration, the presenter said.
Next steps and compliance considerations
Staff told the council they had retained a third-party monitoring service to audit nonprofit grant performance and had documented the monitoring report for JC Powell. They emphasized the importance of tight documentation because HUD may audit these files years later. The presenter warned that if the council does not approve the recommended reprogramming, unspent funds would be returned to HUD.
Direct figures presented in caucus
- Amount reimbursed to JC Powell: $80,845.20 - Unspent balance recommended for cancellation/return: $169,154.80 - Total original allocation discussed for the youth program: about $250,000 (illustrative of combined amounts referenced in the presentation)
The matter was presented in caucus for discussion and will be placed on the public council agenda for formal action; no formal vote on the proposed termination and reprogramming was recorded in caucus.
