California's ACORN Chapter Breaks Away From National Organization

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The California chapter of ACORN has split from the national organization, which has been tarnished by scandal.

The announcement was made Wednesday by the former head of the California branch, Amy Schur.

Schur says the 37,000-member state chapter broke away this week to form a new nonprofit group, the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment. Schur, who's executive director, says the new group will have many of the same staff members and the community-organizing mission.

Schur says ACORN has been damaged by internal mistakes and what she calls "vicious politically motivated attacks" by conservatives. Critics accuse the group of voter-registration fraud, and an embarrassing sting video made last year showed ACORN workers advising a woman posing as a prostitute how to launder earnings.