I wonder if Shanetta Coleman got a lawyer yet.

Detroit's Head Start program in peril

The Detroit agency being investigated by the FBI following Free Press reports of misspending and mismanagement is placing the city's preschool Head Start program at risk by failing to pay rent to classroom providers and allowing federal violations to persist.

Head Start providers worry that they may have to shut down their programs that serve about 7,000 low-income children in Detroit. They said the beleaguered Human Services Department, which receives $47.8 million a year in federal grants to administer the programs, hasn't paid June rent to at least eight Head Start agencies -- which the mayor's office has acknowledged. Head Start officials say their phone calls to the department have not been returned.

"If the money isn't there, then the organization can't function, which means Head Start will stop serving kids," said Janet Windemuth, a Head Start volunteer and Wayne State University instructor who specializes in urban education of early childhood. "We have no idea what's going on with the city."

The city may give up the program. City Councilwoman JoAnn Watson and Wayne County Commissioner Kevin McNamara, who serves on the county's Head Start Board, said the city has floated a plan to transfer its Head Start money to Wayne County.

Spokesman Dan Lijana said the mayor's office is aware of no such plan.

Head Start program abuses go unchecked for years

The Detroit Human Services Department has mismanaged the childhood development program Head Start for years with few consequences from the agencies and officials responsible for oversight.

During the past three years, local and federal auditors have warned of serious problems with the department's handling of more than $45 million annually in federal money provided for Head Start.

The problems range from excessive salaries to missing money.

Despite a law that requires federal intervention of troubled Head Start programs, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families has continued to allow Detroit to handle the money that helps educate about 7,000 children and finds jobs and assistance for their parents.

"Everyone is turning a blind eye to very serious problems within the city," Detroit Head Start volunteer Julie Dearing said. "Who is looking out for the children whose families are poor? This is a travesty."

The federal agency didn't return calls for comment.

Lax oversight

The city also continues to operate the Southeast Children and Family Development Head Start in Detroit without a federally required board of directors, which is responsible for overseeing programs and finances.

By contrast, Wayne County's nationally recognized Head Start program has a very active board of directors, said board member and county Commissioner Kevin McNamara.

"This board is very serious," McNamara said. "We get the services out on time and monitor the program very closely every month."

Wayne County disburses $23.8 million a year to Head Start agencies in 29 communities and has seven employees working on funding and organizing the programs.

A federal audit last year criticized Detroit for its Head Start payroll of $3.3 million, which includes the salaries and benefits of more than 17 city workers. Five of those employees earned more than $100,000 a year, payroll records show.

It's unclear how long Mayor Dave Bing's administration has been aware of problems at city Head Start programs, but providers said complaints to his office have gone virtually unanswered for two years.

Bing knows of the troubles now.

An investigation of the Human Services Department, sparked by the Free Press' disclosure of furniture purchases made with money meant for the city's needy people, has evolved to include the agency's handling of Head Start, said mayoral spokesman Dan Lijana. "It's a comprehensive investigation," he said.

Director suspended

So far, the investigation that began internally has resulted in the suspensions of department Director Shenetta Coleman and several employees, and now involves the FBI and Detroit Police.

All of the suspended employees were in charge of handling Head Start money.

Three employees in the Human Services Department said the FBI was reviewing Head Start records and interviewing workers about the program.

Greg Murray, vice president of the Senior Accountants, Analysts and Appraisers Association, which represents Head Start employees, said he was booted from a meeting with the mayor's office last year after leveling allegations of mismanagement and misspending.

Murray and Head Start volunteers said the investigation has brought to a halt the department's role with childhood education.

So far, at least eight program providers for Head Start haven't received rent this month, prompting concerns of closures and worries about whether the city will make payroll later this month.

Murray questions whether the city is purposely sabotaging the program to get rid of it.

"They are putting Head Start at risk because of the financial pressures they create," Murray said. "They are starving the city of resources, and no one is responding to concerns we have."

Bing called for an investigation of the Human Services Department in May following a Free Press report that showed the agency spent more than $200,000 in federal grants intended to feed and clothe struggling Detroiters on furniture for its offices.

Head Start advocates emphasized that problems with the programs are rare. "All Head Start programs must exercise diligence in their role as stewards of the scarce federal resources," said Robin Bozek, executive director for the Michigan Head Start Association. Her group, she said, has tough standards that "serve as a platform for quality early education and family services in Michigan."

The Michigan Head Start Association has no authority over Detroit's programs.