Youth Homes Inc. - death greatly exaggerated

The Observer's Eric Frazier, who has been covering Mecklenburg's non-profits crisis, writes that tension is escalating among local agencies today as the United Way board of directors prepares to break the bad budget news tomorrow to scores of local charities that depend on them for financial support.

Writes Eric:

The impending decision has stoked such anxiety among nonprofits that Youth Homes Inc., which provides support services for fragile families, found itself fending off budget rumors that didn't even involve the United Way. The misunderstanding came after an Observer story on Sunday mentioned that state budget cuts have claimed one of the agency's many family preservation programs.

Frank Crawford, director of Youth Homes Inc., stressed that just one of those programs failed to get state money for next budget year. He fielded calls over the weekend from anxious staffers and other supporters who mistakenly thought that all of the agency's family preservation programs had been eliminated.

"We are losing one program within a broader array of programs," he wrote in an e-mail. "Some 50 other families will be served next year in the other family preservation programs that Youth Homes offers."