FEDS SPANK HEAD START COUNTY OFFICE TAKES THE BRUNT.Byline: Rachel Uranga Staff Writer The county Office of Education could lose the $210 million it receives to provide day care for 24,000 poor children because of mismanagement mis·man·age tr.v. mis·man·aged, mis·man·ag·ing, mis·man·ag·es To manage badly or carelessly. mis·man  age·ment n. and other problems at 28 Head Start centers, officials said Wednesday. A 92-page report from the U.S. Administration of Children and Families cites dozens of irregularities, such as insufficient evaluation of developmentally disabled children and inadequate oversight of financial management and student medical referrals. The county office was given deadlines to rectify the problems - including some deadlines in 30 days - or risk losing federal funding. ``There are deficiencies that affect the health and safety of children and also call into question the security of federal funding,'' said Frank Fuentes, who oversees day-to-day operations for Head Start programs nationally. His agency found problems with all but one of the 29 Head Start providers in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County, which has the largest Head Start operation in the nation, but investigators noted only minor infractions in the four programs operating in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. . But at a Head Start center run by the Lancaster School District Lancaster School District may refer to:
And while coming down hard on individual preschool providers, the report directed most of its criticism at the county Office of Education, which employs 30 monitors to track programs in the nation's most-populous county. Federal regulators said the office has no fiscal monitoring system with timelines or a detailed description of activities. Ironically, the only Head Start program given a clean bill of health a certificate from the proper authority that a ship is free from infection. See also: Clean is run by the Latin American Civic Association, which county officials had threatened to shut down because of management concerns. Officials in the association, along with other Head Start providers, contended that the county office does a poor job of providing adequate information to guide them through a labyrinth labyrinth (lăb`ərĭnth), intricate building of chambers and passages, often constructed so as to perplex and confuse a person inside. of federal regulations and ensure they comply. Federal officials say the critical report is part of a wider effort to ensure that Head Start programs are using federal funds Federal Funds Funds deposited to regional Federal Reserve Banks by commercial banks, including funds in excess of reserve requirements. Notes: These non-interest bearing deposits are lent out at the Fed funds rate to other banks unable to meet overnight reserve effectively. And county officials pledged to improve their oversight. ``We have to change the way we do business,'' said Carolyn Mangrum, county interim director for Head Start. ``We have to check their tracking systems more often and make sure that children are getting their due in this program.'' The findings, which were delivered to county officials this week, follow an exhaustive federal investigation by the Administration for Children and Families The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is a division of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). It is headed by the Assistant Secretary for Children and Families, which from 2001 to 2007 was Dr. Wade F. Horn. in May. Federal officials said they were prompted by complaints from parents and some of the county Office of Education's own employees about shortcomings A shortcoming is a character flaw. Shortcomings may also be:
``It doesn't necessarily mean that children are being misserved,''said Edward Condon Edward Uhler Condon (March 2 1902 – March 26 1974) was a distinguished American nuclear physicist, a pioneer in quantum mechanics, a participant in the development of radar and nuclear weapons in World War II, research director of Corning Glass, director of the National , executive director of the California Head Start Association, a nonprofit advocacy group representing providers statewide. ``The review process is to make sure all Head Start (providers) are responsible.'' Indeed, federal officials said Los Angeles County areas have no more violations than similar areas, but that the violations are serious enough for immediate corrective action A corrective action is a change implemented to address a weakness identified in a management system. Normally corrective actions are instigated in response to a customer complaint, abnormal levels if internal nonconformity, nonconformities identified during an internal audit or to be ordered. Under the Bush administration, there has been increased scrutiny of Head Start providers, and the federal agency overseeing the program has more frequently conducted spontaneous audits over the past two years. Rachel Uranga, (818) 713-3741 rachel.uranga(at)dailynews.com TROUBLED COUNTY DEPARTMENTS Los Angeles County government in the past few years has faced problems with several of its 38 departments, including: --Department of Health Services health services Managed care The benefits covered under a health contract Faces a deficit of up to $2.2 billion by 2008. One of its hospitals, Martin Luther King-Drew Medical Center, is under state monitoring in the wake of deaths blamed on lapses in patient care. --Department of Children and Family Services Is undergoing a radical culture change after disclosures that its foster-care system has one of the highest rates of abuse in the nation and after officials admitted that half of the children under their care were unnecessarily taken from their parents. --Sheriff's Department Is slowly scaling back an early release program in its jails that has been blamed for at least two killings in the community. --Department of Community and Senior Services Its director retired during an investigation over whether contractors were overbilling the county for millions of dollars. SOURCE: Daily News research CAPTION(S): box Box: TROUBLED COUNTY DEPARTMENTS (see text) |
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