|
The non-profit Riz Up! Louisiana received at least 2 contracts through the state Department of Social Services to aid their mission of teen pregnancy prevention. It also received earmarked money in the state budget, according to state documents obtained in response to a public-records act request that the The Pelican Institute submitted.
Problems within the department led the state to drop its contract with the non-profit earlier this year. Gov. Bobby Jindal has strict guidelines for financing such organizations, thus he vetoed $335,000 in budget earmarks for the current budget year and the preceding year.
"Non-profits provide a range of valuable services," said Pelican Institute president Kevin Kane. "But if they receive taxpayer support we should expect transparency and accountability. This is particularly important when the organization has ties to a legislator. We commend the Jindal Administration for increasing reporting requirements and vetoing more earmarks."
In 2007, the amount of state money flowing to the group jumped in 2007. The non-profit's former executive director, Regina Barrow, settled in to her position as state representative for District 29 in north Baton Rouge at this time. Barrow was elected in mid-2005 to fill the remainder of a term for the state and she was chosen to lead the Legislative Black Caucus in July of 2008. For several years, the agency had been getting about $110,000 a year, but in 2007, the figure rose to nearly $300,000. This was after Barrow's first full year in office.[1]
| 
