The Social Development Commission, or SDC, is encouraging members of the public to attend a hearing on the agency’s future as a community action agency on Friday, April 4. Here is what we know.
How to attend the hearing
The Wisconsin Department of Children and Families, or DCF, is hosting the hearing from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Milwaukee State Office Building, 819 N. 6th St., in Conference Rooms 40 and 45 on the first floor.
People can also send in written comments to DCF by email by April 3 at DCF.CSBG@wisconsin.gov.
SDC set up a form for attendees to RSVP for the meeting here. Registration is not required by the state.
DCF will not make a final decision on the agency’s community action designation until after the public hearing.
Why is there a hearing?
It’s been nearly a year since SDC abruptly laid off staff and stopped services, and over three months since the agency reopened at limited capacity.
SDC still has a number of serious deficiencies that make it unable to perform its community action duties under the law, according to Gina Paige, communications director for DCF.
Because of this, the department sent a letter to SDC last week stating that it intends to de-designate SDC as a community action agency.
Community action agencies are local organizations across the country that are assigned to participate in the Community Action Program, created in 1964 to help low- income individuals lift themselves out of poverty.
This status makes SDC eligible to receive federal block grant funds administered by the state to support its holistic services.
What is SDC’s plan?
At an emergency meeting of the SDC Board of Commissioners on Monday night, board members strategized on how to respond to DCF’s criticisms and prepare for the hearing.
Jorge Franco, the chair of the SDC board and interim CEO, said he felt like DCF was playing “hide the ball” and had not been fully transparent about the process or the department’s concerns in its meetings with SDC.
“What I’m concerned about is the fact that they did not properly engage in a legitimate back-and-forth dialogue or a discussion, and that’s troubling because I’m eager for whatever pathway emerges that will immediately deliver services to the poor people of Milwaukee County,” Franco said.
New members of the board said they needed more information about SDC’s communications with DCF and the financial records submitted by the agency to understand SDC’s position.
Commissioner Walter Lanier suggested the board plan to review the letter in-depth together before the hearing.
“We need to be comfortable with all the factual assertions, all the responses, all the documentation,” Lanier said.
Diane Robinson, SDC’s executive director, plans to go through the letter and create a draft with SDC’s records on the different topics raised by DCF in the letter for the board members to review.
