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The timeline:
On December 31, 2023, I received a phone call from Diane Maltester asking if I had the contact information of someone who could help refine a confession written by members of the ICCCC Gov. Board, and if I might be available to help with the situation. At that point I was not aware of the crisis but said that if she would send me a copy of the confession, I would look at it and get back to her.
I learned that the presenting issue was that four board members had become concerned the process of securing a new, additional contract for $195,000 with the Contra Costa County Juvenile Hall. They wrote directly to the County instead of speaking more directly with the Chaplaincy Director, Rev. Julius Van Hook, and ICCCC Executive Director Rev. Will McGarvey. The result of their action was that the ICHANGE program is now part of Get Out of Dodge (GOOD) and is no longer a program of the Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County. Clearly the events that led to the loss of the program have caused a great deal of hurt, anger and disappointment especially among Rev. Van Hook and Rev. McGarvey, and I am sure among Rev. Alexandria Spearman and former Gov. Board member Meg Keeley, who created the ICHANGE Mentor program. I agreed to help in the process.
January 3, 2024: I met with Rev. Will McGarvey, Dave Longhurst, Greg Kremenliev, Diane Maltester, Mary Ann Cropper, Dennis Wasco, and Cindy Bilsborough. They shared their perspectives on what happened.
My first question to the gathered group was “What do Rev. Van Hook, Rev. Spearman, and Meg Keeley want to happen?”
At that meeting, I learned that Chaplaincy at Juvenile Hall had been a program of the Council for 63 years and that in the time he has been on the ICCCC staff, Rev. Julius Van Hook has negotiated contracts with the County for the Juvenile Hall Chaplaincy program of $57,000, which he grew to $175,000, and ended on September 30, 2023, and that he was in the process of negotiating an additional contract of $195,000.
I learned that the Governing Board agreed that Rev. Van Hook and Rev. McGarvey would continue to negotiate the new contract with the Chief of Probation. The contract itself was in the office, and ready to be signed, but questions remained for some Gov. Board members as to what the budget breakdown would be for the new contract. However, when the four members of the Gov. Board were not satisfied with answers about the contract and felt that Rev. Julius was not providing enough details (the Co-chairs were to sign on behalf of the Council) they wrote directly to the County Legal Department with their questions. Whether they were told not to do it, or that doing so was a futile exercise is in dispute.
What is not in dispute is that as a result of the letter/email signed by Ms. Maltester, after conferring with Co-chair Longhurst, Development Chair Kremenliev and Treasurer Cropper, that the $195,000 proposed contract was being rescinded from our organization. We learned later that the contract will be given to a re-constituted organization Get out of Dodge (GOOD), which was begun by Rev. Dr. Charles Tinsley to receive donations for after care during his tenure as the Chaplain of Juvenile Hall before Rev. Julius took over the position. As of Jan 1, 2024, Rev. Van Hook and Rev. Spearman are now working for GOOD.
While this was happening, the continuing Chaplaincy contract of $175,000 expired at the end of September 2023. The Gov. Board approved the continued payment of both chaplains from ICCCC reserves while awaiting news of the renewal of that contract, with the understanding that ICCCC would be reimbursed by the county for the services rendered by the Chaplains between October and December 2023. The Gov. Board learned just before the new year that ICCCC would no longer be offered the Chaplaincy contract. After ICCCC reserves were depleted, the Gov. Board voted not to continue paying the chaplains into the new year.
An initial letter of confession was written and distributed to people on the board’s leadership, for their input. There was an attempt to come to agreement on that letter, but the group couldn’t come to agreement.
Several board resignations have happened as a result of this crisis, which has happened alongside the resignation of Rev. McGarvey as he goes to lead the Solano Pride Center. In the ensuing days, Father Tom Bonacci and Rev. Rodney Lemery have resigned their positions on the Gov. Board, while remaining on the Elected Council. Former Co-Chair Diane Maltester offered her resignation a few weeks later. Treasurer Mary Ann Cropper has completed her three-year term and no longer wishes to be on the Gov. Board.
The Gov. Board invited Rev. Dr. LaTaunya Bynum from our Elected Council to come as a third party to hear all of the histories. Her suggestion was that rather than a confession, an apology was required, and that the apology name the hurt, name who is responsible for the hurt, name the damage caused and how they intend to move forward.
At the meeting with Dr. Bynum and the Gov. Board, Rev. McGarvey shared some words from Fr. Tom Bonnaci and others which expresses concern about broken trust in the Black community, reputational loss with the county, and other questions. “When and how will we communicate this? How will it affect our members and congregations?” We note that this is the loss of a major ICCCC program, the loss of two of the best staff people in Rev. Van Hook and Rev. Spearman, at the same time as we lost the Executive Director to another organization.
Dr. Bynum was asked to speak to Rev. Van Hook, Rev. Lemery, and Fr. Bonacci. The rest of this report is the direct reporting from Dr. Bynum’s interviews with them.
January 6, 2024: I received a letter of apology to the ICCCC Gov Board from Greg which I assumed was on behalf of the four who contacted Contra Costa County. I learned a few days later that it was not, rather it was a draft apology to be offered to the Elected Council.
January 8, 2024: At the request of people gathered on January 3, I reached out by email to Rev. Julius Van Hook, Father Tom Bonacci, and Rev. Rodney Lemery. I received an email from Tom Bonacci and on January 9, I had phone conversations with Rev. Rodney Lemery and Rev. Julius Van Hook.
Rev. Julius Van Hook, who led the Juvenile Hall Chaplaincy for five years and the ICHANGE mentoring program for the last couple of years (he is the third chaplain in 63 years), stated that he was given the authority to negotiate the contracts with the Contra County Probation Department. I asked if the behavior he experienced from Gov. Board members was new behavior, he says it began with the current Gov. Board who has not worked with him. There has been no transparency from the Gov. Board. He talked about the request for 10% administrative costs to the Council on what he describes as a sole source contract rather than a grant. Asked what he wants to see happen, Rev. Van Hook says that he wants the truth to be told, that he currently has no relationship with the Gov. Board, but that he would continue to work with ICCCC. He would like to see accountability and responsibility taken by the Gov. Board.
Rev. Rodney Lemery: In our phone conversation, Rodney reiterated that he remains a member of the Elected Council. He was the Gov. Board member assigned to work with Rev. Van Hook as the contracts were negotiated. He also stated that the racial overtones of the board’s actions are strong. For instance, he described watching Rev. Van Hook get grilled about the detail of his work such that Rev. Lemery asked why he was being asked about his day-to-day work given that he has a supervisor at the juvenile jail and that he reports directly to Rev. Will. Rodney said Rev. Van Hook did not move the contract to GOOD, that was the work of the County. We had an obligation to pay Revs. Van Hook and Spearman in the gap between contracts. He believes that this is an opportunity for ICCCC to do the justice work ICCCC talks about.
Father Tom Bonacci: Here is that email letter shared with me.
“Good Afternoon,
I hope you are well. I have a few thoughts to share.
My major concern is whether or not those offended were contacted first. It seems inappropriate to attempt any apology or reconciliation until those offended were heard first. Rev. Julius was cut off before he had a chance to speak. I hope his input was first.
I am surprised an apology document is circulating before hearing from all those involved. The process now appears rushed.
I am concerned that Will as Executive Director is being ignored or, at least, not appreciated for the disrespect and damage done.
The offense reveals racism. I am not sure this is not (now?) being seriously recognized.
The only people who can answer how ICCCC can help ICHANGE is Rev. Julius and his team. The damage done is heartbreaking. Our reputation with the County is shattered.
I fear we have lost our moral authority to speak on the issues of the day.
I am not feeling confident at this time. I feel hurt, disappointment and deep concern. I wonder if we need to try to establish a new Interfaith Outreach in Contra Costa County.
Thank you for inviting me to share. I hope the process is successful. I appreciate your work and effort on our behalf.
Peace
Tom
What Comes Next? Dr. Bynum’s Suggestions:
· While the questions asked by the four board members have some validity, the fact that they went around the Council’s Executive Director and Rev. Van Hook rather than continuing to talk to them is problematic.
· There also needs to be better Gov. Board training with an emphasis on what it means to be a board member of a non-profit organization.
· The letter apology written by Mr. Kremenliev is a start if the comments by Rev. Van Hook and others are factored into the final apology.
· Since the loss of a major program puts the Council in financial jeopardy, some work on the future of the Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County needs to take place with urgency.
The current Governing Board believes it is important for all of our stake holders to know about this crisis, have a chance to read it and discuss it with us at tomorrow’s Elected Council meeting, if they so choose. Any members of our congregations or individual members or past members are invited to attend our meeting on Thursday, January 11that 8:30 am on zoom to be in conversation with us and each other as we begin a process of repair. You can register for the meeting at:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/uJYtcOmoqz8vFM5r6AG5BIDR8Z_91i-kig
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