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The CurrenT
Transparency office seeks further reforms By GRAHAM VYSE Current Staff Writer
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The District has fallen behind several other major U.S. cities regarding government transparency, the director of D.C.’s Office of Open Government said recently. Speaking at the National Press Club on March 19, Traci Hughes told the third annual D.C. Open Government Summit that New York, Chicago and Baltimore are all doing more than the nation’s capital to make public information accessible to citizens. Specifically, the District is failing to keep up with best practices regarding “open data,� which enable residents to download, share and make sense of information collected by city agencies — a useful means of holding government accountable. “It is my hope, though, that this [mayoral] administration will adopt open data as a standard practice among all agencies,� Hughes said. In a follow-up interview, she explained that she is seeking more funding for her office — “I would love to have a $1.5 million budget every year,� she said — and to showcase the work of local groups that are leading the way on these issues. One example Hughes cited was ancfinder.org, a website created by the volunteer organization Code for DC. Using publicly available information, the site allows District residents to learn more about advisory neighbor-
hood commissions. The site includes the number of families, households and residents each neighborhood commission represents. It also lists the number of liquor licenses and building permits in each area as well as demographic information about residents such as their median age and median household income. “This is an excellent example of how data can be parsed and turned into easy-to-access, easy-to-use tools with engaging visual displays,� Hughes said. “It benefits every District resident, and the city must do more to highlight these efforts.� Hughes said she thinks the mayor’s office is taking her suggestions under advisement, though she expressed frustration with the pace of reform. Mixing her criticism with praise, she said the D.C. Department of Transportation is doing a good job of making public information available, but added, “That should become the standard for every District government agency.� Hughes was hired as the Open Government Office’s inaugural director in April 2013. Her job includes ensuring that city agencies comply with the Freedom of Information Act and conducting transparency training. But with only one other staff member, Hughes said, “I don’t have any people to do that. I don’t have the manpower. There’s not enough of me to go around.�
Group’s ex-offender housing gets ANC nod By KAT LUCERO Current Staff Writer
Jubilee Housing, a nonprofit that has provided affordable residences in Adams Morgan for 40 years, is seeking to turn two neighborhood properties into rehabilitation homes for adults recently released from prison. The organization has applied for a special zoning exception for each location, hoping to expand its existing services for former inmates. The two recently renovated properties already house a few residents each, but Jubilee is currently not authorized to accommodate people with certain criminal backgrounds or to fill the properties to their capacity of 10 occupants apiece. Completed last October, the row house at 2720 Ontario Road accommodates women; the top level of a mixed-use building at 2448 18th St., where construction wrapped up in January, is for men. The Adams Morgan advisory neighborhood commission is on board with this development. Commissioners voted last Wednesday to support Jubilee’s applications. “I’m just so impressed with the facilities,� said commissioner Ted Guthrie. “Adams Morgan has a responsibility to help people integrate to the real world. If we don’t take our responsibility seriously, it’s just going to be a revolving door. I’m so thrilled that they’re doing this project. It’s highly needed.� Chair Billy Simpson said that with Jubilee’s long-standing reputation, “I have no doubt they’ll run an exceptional program.� Founded in 1973, Jubilee operates seven apartment buildings in Adams Morgan, housing more than 850 low-income individuals, according to the nonprofit’s website. Those residents include new immigrants, single mothers, seniors and people
recovering from troubled pasts. The organization purchased the properties on Ontario Road and 18th Street a few years ago to broaden its services to former inmates who want a structured but voluntary program that will allow them to reintegrate with the community. Jim Knight, executive director of Jubilee Housing, said returning residents’ challenges contribute to the city’s homelessness problem. “While we have served the community in the apartment buildings for years, more recently, it’s become clear that some people want and need a more structured transition into the community,� he said at Wednesday’s meeting. But Knight said he and his Jubilee colleagues learned after renovating the two properties as boarding homes that certain restrictions severely limited the pool of potential occupants. “There are three subsets that we cannot serve in there: those who are in pre-trial release and have not yet been sentenced; those who are released on probation or on parole supervision; those who were convicted of felonies,� Knight said. “If you’re very familiar with the returning population, that’s the vast population. So there’s really a small subset of people who are technically eligible.� Now, Jubilee is looking for permission to expand its program to serve people who are under court supervision. According to a 2013 report from the D.C. Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency, approximately 9,500 offenders enter the court’s supervision each year, and approximately 2,100 of them return to D.C. from federal prison. If the D.C. Board of Zoning Adjustment grants a special exception in the case, Jubilee can provide services to individuals with these backgrounds under the adult reha-
bilitation category in the zoning regulations. Martin Mellett, Jubilee’s director of special services, emphasized at the meeting that “the structured program is for people who really want to move their lives forward. When people are coming out of being incarcerated, some are ready to move on and some aren’t. There’s an initial screen that’s really checking that they want to live in an environment that has curfews, [and be] clean and sober.� In an interview, Mellett explained that the nonprofit’s facilities are not halfway houses, which are operated by the government itself or through contractors. Courts send ex-offenders to these homes before they fully integrate back into society. Adams Morgan residents have previously pushed back against plans to create halfway homes. Mellett also said Jubilee started piloting a program similar to the current plan for women a few years to ago. The nonprofit was able to expand services with the staff and system already in place. Neighborhood commission chair Simpson commended Jubilee for addressing concerns from constituents living across from the Ontario Street location. He said that after Knight and Mellett gave them a tour of the facilities, residents “walked away, as best as I could tell, fully satisfied.� Elham Dehbozorgi, the only commissioner who voted to oppose the resolution, said that some families in her area “don’t feel comfortable having a facility nearby.� Another resident, who said she has a daughter attending the daycare across from the Ontario Street row house, countered those concerns. “I have complete faith that Jubilee Housing will do what it takes to make this a safe program for all in our neighborhood,� she said.