15986: (Hermantin) Palm Beach Post-Haitian program criticized (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>


Haitian program criticized


By Gariot Louima, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 18, 2003


DELRAY BEACH -- Personnel problems afflicted a program aimed at helping
Haitian schoolchildren to the extent that it "needs intensive technical
assistance" to meet its goals, according to a report released Tuesday by an
agency that helps finance the effort.

The Palm Beach County Children Services Council set a Sept. 15 deadline for
improvements to the Lake Worth-based Family Empowerment Program, which helps
Haitian parents prepare their children for school. The program is operated
by the Haitian American Community Council.

The county agency noted that Daniella Henry, the executive director of the
Haitian council, employed a man with whom she co-owns a house and gave him a
5 percent pay raise without notifying agencies that provide money for the
organization's programs.

Henry's relationship with Gethro Louis-Jean created a personnel rift within
the Empowerment Program which ultimately resulted in the firing of three
staff members, including Deputy Director Karlie Richardson, the CSC report
said.

Louis-Jean supervised the Empowerment Program from Oct. 1, 2002, until he
was fired in April.

Henry gave Louis-Jean a 5 percent pay raise before his dismissal, boosting
his annual salary to $36,500.

While the increase was within the boundaries of the Haitian Center's
contract with CSC, Henry did not notify the agency, the report said.

Willie Jones, a Haitian American Community Council board member and its
legal adviser, rejected the report. "This is totally false," he said. "They
make allegations, but what are they based on?"

Henry co-signed on a loan to help Louis-Jean purchase a house, but "that
doesn't rise to the level of nepotism," he said. Henry identified herself as
Louis-Jean's wife on the mortgage deed.

Louis-Jean said that was a clerical error. Henry co-signed as a favor and it
had nothing to do with his job, he said.

The Empowerment Program never stopped providing service to the community,
Jones stressed.

Although the fired staff members have been replaced, the program "is not on
the path to meet its goals and needs intensive technical assistance,"
according to the CSC report.

The CSC, which gave the Haitian Council a $145,705 grant this year, reviewed
only the Empowerment Program. The Haitian Council receives more than
$600,000 in grants from several agencies, which are reviewing the nonprofit
organization following Richardson's dismissal and reports that Henry and her
staff improperly charged fees for certain services.

Marlene Passell, CSC spokeswoman, said a review of the Empowerment Program
and interviews with Henry uncovered only minor discrepancies in the
program's financial reports.

The review also found that families involved in the Empowerment Program were
not charged for services or asked to make donations.

The CSC will conduct periodic checks and provide Henry and her staff with
technical assistance, Passell said. A review committee will meet with Henry
June 26 to discuss the program's future. "Our whole issue is we want the
clients in that area served," Passell said. "We want things done so that
they are meeting their objectives."

Henry could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

gariot_louima@pbpost.com

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