BALTIMORE (WBFF) — After the latest inspector general report was published showing concerns with fraudulent invoices connected to a one-operational pilot youth diversion program in Baltimore City, there remain questions about plans for transparency moving forward.
The SideStep program was a youth diversion program from the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, MONSE, piloted in partnership with the Baltimore Police Department in the Western District. In a pre-arrest diversion effort, the program paired young people with various services and programs with the goal of getting kids on a better life path.
However, an October Office of Inspector General report revealed lack of data management and inadequate performance metrics made it difficult for MONSE to determine the effectiveness of the program.
In March, the OIG released another report on SideStep revealing fraudulent invoices connected to community-based organizations operating the program.
In a radio interview a few days after the release of the latest OIG report, MONSE Director Stefanie Mavronis talked about the importance of improving transparency surrounding programs from her agency.
“We’re going to track the data differently, the same way that we share reports from our Safe Streets program,” she said on WBAL Radio.
As FOX45 News has reported for several years, the Safe Streets program has been surrounded with unanswered questions about effectiveness and programming transparency.
The findings from the latest OIG report have been referred to law enforcement for further criminal investigation. It’s unclear what law enforcement agency is continuing the investigation.
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