OIC of Clark County (Opportunities for Individual Change) is managing the grant, and hired the county’s gun violence prevention coordinator to lead the effort, which also involved a coalition of nine local agencies.
Caleb Perkins, the gun violence prevention coordinator, presented findings and future solutions to the city commission in February. He has now transitioned to a new role within OIC while funds are frozen, according to the coalition.
The Department of Justice’s notice of termination of the Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative (CVIPI) grant states that the project “no longer effectuates the program goals or agency priorities,” but does not point out specific reasons.
The local grant was among 365 such grants valued at $811 million that were canceled nationwide.
“This sudden pause breaks the implementation timeline, delays baseline data collection, and risks eroding community trust by leaving the most vulnerable neighborhoods without the potential conflict‑mediation coverage that was slated to begin soon," the coalition said in a statement.
The agencies in the coalition are the Springfield Foundation, Springfield Police Division, Clark County Sheriff’s Office, OIC, Clark County Combined Health District, Springfield City School District, Clark County Juvenile Court, the NAACP and the Mental Health & Recovery Board of Clark, Greene, and Madison Counties.
The federal Department of Justice signed off on final budget revisions April 16, six days before issuing a termination notice.
The coalition had struggled to communicate with the DOJ due to reductions in federal staffing. There was no indication the grant would be canceled, the coalition said.
“Gun violence does not stop because things have changed with funding,” said Leslie Crew, OIC executive director. “Clark County lost multiple young lives to firearm-related homicides last year alone, and every day another family braces for tragedy. Although this ruling removes federal dollars, it cannot remove our focus. We as a coalition will file a timely appeal, seek replacement funding, and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with law enforcement, educators, faith leaders, and neighborhood advocates until every child in our community can grow up without fearing the next bullet.”
Six people were killed in homicides in Springfield in 2024. There were nine in 2023.
OIC filed a formal appeal with the DOJ on April 30, “requesting immediate reconsideration” of the termination.
“By pursuing this administrative remedy, the CVIPI coalition seeks to reinstate the $1.24 million grant so that violence-interruption outreach can proceed without disruption, and Clark County families can continue to benefit from these lifesaving interventions,” the coalition said.
As part of the grant, the group had planned to implement four strategies to address Springfield’s gun violence problem. The group, along with Case Western Reserve University, collected and analyzed data from agencies including the Springfield Police Division, the Clark County Dispatch Center and the Clark County Combined Health District for a community assessment.
Through the study, the coalition determined the majority of gun violence offenders in Springfield from 2021 to 2023 were between the ages of 18-24, and the highest concentration of gun crimes were in three census tracts in the southeast part of the city.
The coalition is evaluating alternative funding sources.
The DOJ did not return a request for comment.
About the Author
