The Stephenson County Services Committee reviewed a proposed youth diversion funding application on Jan. 7 and voted to lay the item over for edits after members sought clearer eligibility and documentation requirements.

Chair opened discussion on the application and several members said they wanted organizations to prove nonprofit status before receiving funds. "They have to be a non profit," the Chair said during the discussion, and members asked that the requirement and a copy of the organization's 501(c)(3) documentation be added near the beginning of the application under "mission and purpose" so applicants do not complete the whole form before discovering they are ineligible.

Committee members also requested applicants include an employer identification number (EIN) and suggested asking for an end-of-program report from prior grantees as part of the review process. One committee member requested that staff add an explicit request for community-support evidence and make the nonprofit verification an early gate in the application.

After the proposed edits were discussed, the committee approved a motion to lay the application over so staff could make the requested changes and finalize the form (motion by Natra Hadley; second by Mister Busker). The committee noted an anticipated outreach timeline and discussed that the press release often runs in March.

Next steps: staff will update the application language to require proof of 501(c)(3) status and EIN, add a field for community-support evidence and ensure a process for receiving end-of-program reports from prior grantees; the item will return to committee for approval.