Earlier this year, Durham received a $1.25 million federal grant to jumpstart anti-gang efforts. But the infusion of public dollars has led only to the creation of another sluggish bureaucracy, as city and county officials learned this week. So far, the only thing the money-rich anti-gang effort has accomplished is to create oversight and steering committees, and — you guessed it — a search for more money. The News & Observer reported this exchange between Durham Councilman Eugene Brown and Anti-Gang Coordinator Tim Henderson (emphasis is mine):
“We’ve got to get this thing moving forward,” Brown told Henderson. “Quite frankly, I don’t know what happened in the eight months you’ve been on board.”
The steering committee started meeting in July and is searching for money to be used after the grant expires in 2010, Henderson responded. It is also looking at how the county’s System of Care, a network of providers aimed to help children in every aspect of their lives, can help gang members.
When a bureaucracy is created, one of its key goals is to ensure its own survival and funding.
