15762: (Hermantin) Palm Beach Post-Center's grant future likely OK (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Center's grant future likely OK


By Gariot Louima, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, June 3, 2003



DELRAY BEACH -- Allegations that the nonprofit Haitian American Community
Council improperly charged for services probably won't jeopardize future
grants, county officials said Monday.

"Ultimately, the goal is to make sure the center continues to operate for
the people it serves," said Renee Constantino, manager of planning and
evaluation at the Palm Beach County Department of Community Services, which
gave the council a $153,491 grant this budget year to provide immigration
services. "There is no question that the community needs this service."

Two countywide agencies are reviewing claims that the council charged for
services that should be free, while a third is looking into whether recent
staff changes will negatively effect programming. In police records and
interviews, former clients said the council charged from $60 to $600 for
certain services, including the retrieval of documents from the National
Archives in Haiti.

The allegations that the mostly poor, immigrant clients were charged for
services come on the heels of internal disputes which led to the firing of
three employees, including deputy Director Karlie Richardson.

Executive Director Daniella Henry and attorney Willie Jones, who is a board
member, deny that fees are being charged and suggest Richardson fueled
claims that the Haitian Council improperly charged for services.

Richardson has said she believes she was fired because she disagreed with
Henry on the firing of Marie-Yves Snezik, a program director.

Several agencies together give the Haitian Council more than $600,000 in
grants every year. While those groups review program and financial records,
their main concern is that the thousands who receive assistance at
HACC-operated centers in Delray Beach and Lake Worth continue to get help,
officials said.

"First and foremost, our purposes is to make sure there is no interruption
of service," said Bruce Parsons, executive director of the Maternal Child
and Family Health Alliance.

The Alliance gave the council $300,000 this budget year, money that comes
from the Children Services Council, which gave the Haitian Council an
additional $145,705 this year to pay for a program that helps mostly Haitian
families prepare their children for school.

Constantino, of the department of community services, said county staff
would visit council offices by the end of next week.

"I just hope to goodness that this is just one of those situations that has
gone further than it should," Constantino said.

gariot_louima@pbpost.com

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