Homestead City Council voted to approve subcontractor agreements on Nov. 19 that will route Children's Trust dollars to local nonprofits providing services to families exposed to violence.

The resolution approved roughly $301,245 in combined awards to five subrecipients: Start Off Smart (SOS) — $243,674; Dade Legal Aid — $72,000; Enfamilia — $162,080 (reported as not in the shared sanctuary building); Mujer — $76,533; and Christie House — $127,512 (individual award amounts were listed at the meeting and total just north of $301,000). The administration told council the city is the contracting entity with the Children's Trust and that the Trust validates subrecipient reimbursements before the city processes payment.

The funding decision followed a series of presentations from the nonprofit partners. Bianca Montenegro, vice chair of Start Off Smart, described programs funded by VOCA and other grants, saying the agency supports hundreds of crime victims and provides wraparound services. Sandy Nani, SOS's executive director, described SOS's 35-year history serving domestic-violence survivors and said the agency has passed fiscal and program audits.

Council debate focused on oversight and procurement controls. Councilman Fletcher asked who is responsible for validating subrecipients' spending; staff replied that the city is the contracting entity, subrecipients report to the Children's Trust, and the Trust validates invoices before reimbursements are processed. Finance staff said the city's audited financial statements include the program and that no adverse findings have been reported to the current administration.

The vote was contentious after Mayor Lawson announced he would vote against the package. "It is my opinion  my personal opinion  that there is ethical corruption in the leadership of the SOS organization, and I will never vote to fund [it] until that leadership is gone," the mayor said during debate. SOS's Sandy Nani responded: "I've been here for 35 years. I've served this community honestly and with passion in my heart. If someone wants to slander me, bring it on." A member of the public who spoke in favor of the nonprofits called their audits "clean" and urged the council to support continued funding.

Council proceeded to a roll-call vote on the bundled subrecipient awards; a majority voted in favor and the motion carried over the mayor's No. Council also asked staff to provide copies of the city's most recent program audits and to preserve documentation used for the awards.

What's next: The subcontract awards will be implemented under the city's grant-administration framework; staff said the updated subagreement includes new criteria for invoice review to streamline payments to subrecipients.