Lt. Gov.’s wife’s decision to end nonprofit work came amid state compliance review, documents show

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – The decision by Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson’s wife Yolanda Hill to end the primary work of her nonprofit Balanced Nutrition came as the state was set to conduct a compliance review of the organization this week, documents obtained by CBS 17 show.

The nonprofit, which Hill started in 2015, has been under scrutiny as Robinson campaigns for governor.

Balanced Nutrition serves as a sponsoring organization under the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program, which the state Dept. of Health and Human Services administers in North Carolina. According to Balanced Nutrition’s website, the nonprofit helps childcare providers navigate that program to get access to federal subsidies to help provide meals to children.

In an email first reported on by the Assembly earlier this month and obtained by CBS 17, Hill wrote that the demands of her husband’s political campaign led to the decision. Robinson faces Atty. Gen. Josh Stein (D) in what is expected to be the most competitive gubernatorial race in the nation this year.

“With that said, my life has gotten extremely busy over the last few years and those obligations no longer allow me the time to be a sponsoring organization,” she writes.

However, documents CBS 17 obtained from the weeks leading up to that decision show the back-and-forth between Hill and NCDHHS as the state raised various concerns and planned to conduct a compliance review between April 15-19. Hill said Balanced Nutrition received notice from the state about that on Mar. 8.

At one point, Hill claimed she and the organization were the subject of a “vendetta.”

NCDHHS noted that Balanced Nutrition also underwent compliance reviews in 2021 and 2023. During the most recent review in July 2023, the state did not deem Balanced Nutrition to be “seriously deficient” but put the organization on the review schedule for follow-up in 2024 to “determine if the findings from the previous year were fully corrected.”

Last year’s review cited issues with things like timesheets, getting specific prior written approval and Income Eligibility Applications.

As part of the compliance review, state officials asked Hill to have various documents available including IRS tax exempt documentation.

The Assembly previously reported on the criticisms of Balanced Nutrition, including Hill raising her pay by $28,000 in 2020 after receiving a PPP loan for almost the same amount early in the pandemic. In total across 2020 and 2021, Hill received two PPP loans that added up to $57,000 and were forgiven, even as Balanced Nutrition reported its revenue increasing, the Assembly reported.

The only employees listed on Balanced Nutrition’s tax documents in recent years include Hill and her family members. Hill is listed as the chief financial officer.

CBS 17 contacted Balanced Nutrition by phone and email but did not receive a response.

Robinson’s campaign declined to comment on the matter and referred CBS 17 to attorney Tyler Brooks, who did not respond to a request for comment.

Emails from early February show NCDHHS had been in touch with Hill about the need to submit various documents by the end of the month as part of the record renewal process so she could continue participating in the program, which she indicated she wanted to do.

On Feb. 2, Hill sent documentation regarding an excess balance, writing in an email that the organization did spend down approximately $134,000 in question, though it was unclear from the emails how that occurred and whether Hill submitted a plan to the state in writing on how Balanced Nutrition would spend down that money.

The state also noted it was missing documentation from Hill for 44 daycare centers and 52 daycare homes ahead of an important deadline at the end of February.

Over the next few weeks, the emails show Hill submitted the requested documentation to the state and sought meetings with state officials about the matter.

On Mar. 11, after learning of the state’s plan to conduct its compliance review in mid-April, Hill emailed DHHS officials, questioning whether she was being singled out, noting the previous reviews in 2021 and 2023.

“As an organization, there are numerous things that have happened and been documented that makes us feel as if we are the target of some type of vendetta, be it personal or political,” Hill wrote. She asked to meet with state officials in person but canceled a planned meeting on Mar. 15, saying she was waiting to hear back from her attorney about alternatives.

On Apr. 2, Hill sent notice to the state that Balanced Nutrition would no longer be a sponsor for the Child and Adult Care Food Program, which will be effective at the end of this month. She told DHHS in a letter she had requested an in-person meeting with the agency “to address serious concerns” and it still had not happened.

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