Episode 10: Eff You See Kay The N.P.I.C.

In episode 10 Myra shares that her husband's prison sentence has been extended by 60 days for an evidence-based program, despite his eligibility for work release. She emphasizes the importance of work release in easing inmates back into society and criticizes the prison's manipulation of programs to maintain funding. Myra examines the Non Profit Industrial Complex's flawed approach to reform, where grants are awarded based on self-serving agendas rather than community needs. She unveils the process of grant applications favoring insider connections and preselected recipients, contrasting it with grassroots efforts advocating for direct financial support to those in need. Despite their genuine intentions, grassroots initiatives often face rejection due to the system's preference for evidence-based programs, which are often misinterpreted or misapplied to maintain funding. Myra highlights the irony of grant funds allocated for programs ultimately benefiting law enforcement rather than incarcerated individuals. A breaking news bulletin further underscores systemic corruption, revealing the mismanagement of grant funds for program expansion.

CREDITS

Intro voices In order of appearance: 

Lex Ward

Kassandra Voss

Joellen Terranova

Davonna Dehay

Episode: 

Just Give Them the Money Consultant: Benita Robledo

Grant Committee: Matt Brown

Myra: La Tisha Conto 

Additional Voices: Nathan Keyes

Transcript

Intro

Myra: 140 motherfucking days until my husband comes home because of course… they’re making him do one more stupid fucking program. 

Myra: The program is sixty days, so instead of my husband being able to do work release for 5 months he will only get to do it for 3 months because they are keeping him an extra 60 days to participate in this stupid program. And probably thinking what’s the big deal about work release. Work release is important because he’s able to earn and save money and ease into the outside world slowly. At work release, they live in a dorm environment, where they are able to cook, visit, and even leave the facility for social outings up to 7 hours at a time.

Myra: An incarcerated person is eligible for work release in the last six months of their incarceration. Now that time can be used for other things like, if you get hit with a jalapeno infraction – 30 eligible days gone – or, if your prison needs bodies because they were awarded grant money for some quote unquote evidence based therapeutic community bullshit program designed to make the governor, who really really wants to be president, look good and like he gives a shit about incarcerated people and their loved ones.

Myra: So, instead of heading to work release, he will move to a new unit, wear a tshirt that says the name of the program, and be one of the other short timers they carefully selected for this program to make it look successful. Because, my sweet listeners, in order for the department of corruptions to receive all their funding they have to reduce infractions in the unit. Now, are they able to do it by simply handing out less infractions? Absolutely. But just to shore up some cops that go rogue because of vendettas against the admin (remember how much cops try to fuck with each other through the inmates?) Well, just to make sure it doesn’t happen they try to fill that program with the people who are least likely to commit infractions. Short timers. The I’m just trying to get the fuck home crowd. So, they round up as many as they can and move them to a new unit. Overnight. Without the goodbyes. Double piece of shit move.

Myra: So, today, because I want to channel my anger into something good, I am going to pay tribute to all you reformists, nonprofiteers, you program pushing sons of rich bitches, who think putting a program over a gushing wound will stop the bleeding. Since I am well versed in the Non Profit Industrial Complex let me go ahead and give you the racket – from the top down. Let’s call this ‘This is how nothing gets done.’ Let me set the scene. It starts with a foundation, loaded with rich people’s money. The grantmakers (you know just they make all your grant dreams come true) they set out on a fact-finding quest. They search far, but not so wide. They convene a committee. They convene a work group. They convene a task force. They convene a sub committee. They ask the questions. Communities, what do you need?

Low voices: Money for housing! Money for food! Money for living! Money!

Louder voices drowning them out: Grant money for programs!

Foundation: We heard grant money for more programs. Got it.

Myra: After an exhaustive listening convening tour across the communities they have created a grant. Please note sarcasm. The only exhausted people are the community members who really tried to help them come up with a great grant. 

Myra: A couple of serious points I need to make here. When they hold these stakeholder meetings. They are usually during the day, they do not offer childcare, or parking. Guess who is able to show up to make their voices easily heard. So, from the very start – the soil if you will – this is already rotten because it isn’t truly listening to the people who need the help. It’s listening to the quote unquote helpers. Strong emphasis on quote unquote helpers. Because the helpers are often times helping themselves. Resume boosting, salary increases, vacays to Norway to study prisons but really just taking a vacation on a foundation’s dime. Cough cough. We see you.

Myra: So now this foundation goes back to it’s headquarters and writes up a grant. They release it on a particular day and it’s called a RFP. Request for Proposals. Everybody who is eligible is invited to apply. Now, as they have written this RFP they have already structured it in such a way that their little favorites will be able to be highly competitive. Another thing, all of their insiders already know a proposal is coming. See, the person overseeing the grant administration - let’s call him Grant Admin - he oversees the grant committee that will pick the grant recipients. He has lunch with one of his favorite people. A grant writer, - you've heard of a sell sword well this is a sell pen if you will, who sells their services of grant writing to people who can afford to pay a grant writer. If you bring them on your success goes up because they have the inside track. They know everybody,and they consult for the foundations. It's all very everybody knows everybody. So, over lunch he lets Sell Pen know about an upcoming RFP – not yet released to the public – and what kinds of orgs they are looking for and what kinds of programs they are interested in. So, right after lunch, Sell Pen calls up the Department of Corruptions, one of their major clients and says hey, get that university on the phone, we’ve got a proposal and this is what Money Baggs Foundation wants. Sell pen knows that the foundation really wants agencies and orgs partnering to work together on proposals. And they are very into Evidence Based programs coming out of research at colleges. So this sell pen reaches out to department of corrections, and says you know that researcher over at the college who had that program they needed test subjects for? Well, that’s just the kind of program this foundation wants to fund. You could partner with them and bring that program, let’s call it The Evidentially Based Program. You can use the incarcerated folks as the guinea pigs – pardon pilot program cohort – such a great idea. University of Privileged Studies can gain more research, you get a bunch of money to use for other things, or to cover the things that you already were using for other things. And your population basically can ask no questions.  They are so happy with themselves and sell pen gets to work on the grant application.

Commercial Voice Breaks in: Hey there, are you a foundation thinking about giving out a huge amount of money to nonprofits who will mostly use that money to pay salaries to mostly upper middle class mostly white woman married to finance guys? Can we make a suggestion? Here at Just Give them the Money Consulting we believe based on evidence-based research conducted over the history of the entire world, just giving that money to the people who need it for things like housing, childcare, wage supplement, food, would do more to lift people out of poverty and working poor status then any program in the NPIC could do. No? Oh, Okay, well I’ll just leave my number and if you change your mind- Oh, what’s that. You don’t just want to give them the money because you’re worried it will be wasted on things. Okay, well if you change your mind you know where to find me. Hello? Hello? Hello? 

Myra: Well, she gave it a good shot. So, without further ado, let’s see how that money is obtained that they are so desperate to give to anybody but the people who actually need it. After Sell Pen sells her soul - pardon skill - and writes the grant she has to submit it. Here I will be playing the part of Sell Pen as I hop onto the grant portal. 

Portal Voice:  You are now entering the grant portal. All request for proposals are posted publicly. Your application must be completed no later than midnight of the day posted on the RFP.

Portal Voice: Name of Organization or organizations requesting funding. Note: One application per organization. Please list your organization followed by any organization you are partnering with.

Myra: Department of Corruptions, partnering with University of Privileged Studies. 

Portal Voice: Name of project:

Myra: The Evidentially Based Program.

Portal Voice: Please explain the project in 500 words or less.

Myra: The Department of Corruptions is a diverse agency, partnering with top researchers from the University of Privileged Studies, to implement the pilot program Evidentially Based, in Thereway Heights prison. The program is designed to change thinking and behavior of an incarcerated population.

Grad student: Formerly incarcerated.

Myra: Excuse me. Who are you? And why are you jumping into my imagined scene? 

Grad Student: I'm the grad student. Um… that um… I designed the program this grant is about and I just wanted to let you know I implemented it in a small setting and its designed for formerly incarcerated people.

Myra: Well, we’re a prison and we have incarcerated people.

Grad Student: Yeah, um… I told Sell Pen that and she said we should just tweak it a bit to fit the guidelines.

Myra: Perfect, we can retrofit the program. As the Department of Corruptions was saying this is a program designed for incarcerated people. It is designed to give them lessons on behavior, and give incentives for good behavior. A small test run was done on incarcerated individuals-

Grad Student: Formerly.

Myra: But they were incarcerated at one point. Correct. Let me just finish this app and get this money. Grant Admin knows us, and wants us to have this money. We’re fine, they save the scrutiny for the grassroots folks who want to give people money all the time.

Portal Voice: Please discuss methods of research in evidence-based programs.

Myra: Research Method – slight of hand, cherry picking data.

Portal Voice: How much money are you seeking?

Myra: 2,000,000. To start.

Portal Voice: List 2 desired outcomes of the program, and how you will measure if you have been successful.

Myra: Reduction in negative behavior – measured by a reduction in infractions. Positive association with the program measured by a participant survey. 

Portal Voice: Your progress is saved, you may return to your application at another time.

Myra: So, they’ll ask for things like letters of recommendation, budgets, etc. etc. But you get the grift. So, they apply for the grant, they get the grant, and now they need to spend the money. The problem is they can’t find enough people to fill the program. They already moved people across the state for another program and it made a lot of families mad, so they have to be more creative with how they fill this program with bodies. And they want to achieve their outcomes because if they do they know there is more money from this foundation down the line. Now, over on the other side of town, Just Give them the Money Consulting helped a grassroots organization with an application. Let's listen in on her committee interview. 

Grant Committee: Hello, yes, Ms. uh... you are from Just Give Them the Money Consulting. Thank you for meeting with the Grant Committee today. You provide an application on behalf of the organization We will Give them the Money. Your program is quite different then most applications we see, and so we wanted to ask you a few questions. First, Can you please explain very simply what this program is?

Just Give them the Money: Absolutely. We have found in our work that money is the biggest barrier to staying out of prison once you get out. In simple terms, those who are provided for or have the means to secure meaningful employment and are supported while they do that fair better overall as they acclimate to society. Our program gives our participants a basic income to cover housing, food, entertainment, health, car, etc. while they adjust to society.

Grant Committee: Yes, but here is where we don’t understand the program. What are they doing while you are giving them this money.

Just Give Them the Money: They are doing what they need to do to feel supported and comfortable. For example, one of our participants enrolled in community college taking a trade program to get his AA in Heating and AC. He will learn a trade, and be able to slowly build towards having a career. He would be able to take classes, and not have to worry about how he was paying for rent, car insurance, health insurance etc. Another one of our participants, due to noise sensitivities cannot live inside the confines of a loud city. He has not been able to find a place in a rural area that accepts a housing voucher. We pay for his rent in a trailer that is on 5 acres. He manages the land, and works odd jobs when he can. We are in the process of filing him for disability as the trauma of his incarceration has probably made it so that long term he may not be able to have a job where he reports to a person in an authoritative manner.

Grant Committee: Is this an evidence based program? Have you partnered with any researchers?

Just Give Them the Money: I want to start off with a fun fact, we here are all familiar with DARE. Did you know that there is not a shred of evidence in the program? And yet it’s still funded to this day. But to speak about evidence to support our program, which relies on giving our participants money so that they may live their lives in stress free environments, with little worry that each set back – flat tire, cavity filling, power outage spoiling the food in the fridge – that any kind of unexpected expense throws them into a crisis mode – well we have thousands of years of that kind of evidence. Let’s take you for example. You are in charge of the Grifter Family Foundation. Set up by your dad, who inherited his own wealth from his dad, and I won’t go into the specifics of how that wealth was obtained but I will say it is fair to say it was from hard work though not from your great grandfather’s own hard work but from labor that was enslaved. So, generation after generation of the Grifter family have given trust payments that have supported their lifestyles, and I think you would agree have made life less stressful, easier to manage. And so even though you were arrested in 2004 for your third DUI, money that was given to you was used to purchase a top notch lawyer to argue down the charges so that you spent no time in jail, and were not impacted economically by your mistakes. I also want to address your reliance on these so-called evidence based programs, and the research that is used to prop them up. A simple google search of one of the citations in your favorite grant applications would find that the citation is often used in a context not in line with the design of the study. Also, a study may tell you that a program has been successful but again a simple google will tell you that the sample was 10 people, or the sample was a population in Norway that in no way reflects the US prison population.

Grant Committee: Thank you, we will let you know.

Myra: Not one lie was told. You know what happens next though.  

Portal Voice: Thank you so much for your application We Will Give them the money.org. Unfortunately we have many applicants and are unable to fund every-

Sound: Mouse click

Myra: They gave it a good shot.

Myra: So, the department of corruptions gets awarded their grant, and disperses the money to pay for… cops. Cops to administer the program, cops to do the paperwork. And the incentives for good behavior that were promised? Fucking snacks from their own food grifting operation.

Breaking News Bulletin: We interrupt this car rant to bring you breaking news out of the racketeers newsroom. Two correctional officers have just filed a whistleblower suit alleging a program manager mismanaged grant funding by providing inaccurate data to make it look like the program was successful. The data was used to apply for expansion of the program into the prison, at the sum of 2 million dollars.

Myra: Sounds familiar. I wonder what that’s all about. Anyway, I am going to wrap it up here because I am pissed off, I want my husband home, and I want reformists to seriously consider the true impact of the NPIC they are so desperately propping up. Next time we’ll talk about what to expect when you don’t really know what to expect. You're welcome, and I’ve been great.