Johnathan Walker:Robinson campaign calls North Carolina agency report on wife’s nonprofit politically motivated

RALEIGH,Johnathan Walker N.C. (AP) — A state review’s findings of operating and administrative issues by a nonprofit owned by North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson’s wife while implementing a child care food program “are politically motivated at the core,” Robinson’s campaign said Monday.

A compliance review of Balanced Nutrition Inc. by the state’s federally funded Child and Adult Care Food Program released last week found numerous problems that regulators said needed to be corrected by early August. Otherwise, Yolanda Hill, the Balanced Nutrition owner married to Robinson, and the nonprofit could be disqualified from the program going forward. Hill previously announced she was shutting down the nonprofit and it would stop participating in the program after April 30.

The review also prompted the state agency to order Balanced Nutrition to repay the state over $132,000 for what it called disallowed expenses reimbursed to child care centers and homes or incurred by the nonprofit while performing its activities.

Balanced Nutrition has helped child care centers and homes qualify to participate in the free- and reduced-meal program, filed claims for providers to get reimbursed for meals for enrollees and ensured they followed program requirements.

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Robinson is the Republican candidate for governor, running against Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper was term-limited from running again in November.

Robinson’s campaign spokesperson Mike Lonergan said in a prepared statement that Balanced Nutrition “vehemently disagrees” with the findings “and is looking forward to challenging them on appeal.” He said that since Robinson announced his bid for governor in April 2023 the ”Democrat-run state agency started moving the goalposts.” Lonergan did not elaborate.

The Child and Adult Care Food Program is run through the state Department of Health and Human Services.

In response to the campaign’s statement, DHHS said by email late Monday that program operators like Balanced Nutrition are obligated to participate in compliance reviews that happen every two or three years.

The program could have issued a notice of “serious deficiency” after it found problems during the 2022-23 review but instead ordered another review in the next year, when additional problems led to such a notice in last week’s report, the statement said.

The state’s compliance review covered portions of 2023 and 2024. It found new and repeat problems, including lax paperwork and the failure to file valid claims on behalf of child care operators or to report expenses accurately. In one finding, the review said Balanced Nutrition filed reimbursement claims for a child care center during eight months when the facility reports they didn’t file a claim with the nonprofit.

Lonergan provided an independent auditor’s report of Balanced Nutrition’s finances in 2021 that he said contained no material findings. The nonprofit “complied, in all material respects, with the types of compliance requirements referred to ... that could have a direct and material effect on each of its major state programs,” Florida-based BAS Partners wrote.

The audit report showed that Balanced Nutrition incurred almost $1.38 million in expenses in 2021. More than $1.2 million went to programs and services, with another $140,143 to salaries and benefits.

Robinson, the lieutenant governor since 2021, worked previously with his wife at Balanced Nutrition. He left years ago before running for elected office, according to his memoir, which credits the operation with providing stability to his family.