BALTIMORE (WBFF) — A whistleblower at the taxpayer-backed Baltimore Children and Youth Fund (BCYF) said the nonprofit’s leaders advised employees on how to skirt Maryland’s public information law—an allegation described by a media attorney as an “enormous problem.”
The allegation marks the latest in a series of concerns for BCYF over the past year, from whistleblower complaints to an investigation of the nonprofit from the Baltimore City Inspector General to a pending bill at the Baltimore City Council that would update oversight of the fund. BCYF is guaranteed a portion of Baltimore City’s assessed property value each year, leading to about $16 million in taxpayer funding this fiscal year, to fund youth programs in Baltimore City.
Spotlight on Maryland has published a series of investigative reports since 2024 exposing questionable spending at BCYF based on documentation obtained through the Maryland Public Information Act (MPIA). A former BCYF employee said that as those requests came in, leadership at the organization advised employees on how to ensure their communications and operations were not made public…