16038: (Hermantin) Sun-Sentinel-New criticism aimed at Haitian council (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>


New criticism aimed at Haitian council


By Leon Fooksman
Staff Writer

June 24, 2003

DELRAY BEACH · A second Palm Beach County agency found flaws Monday with the
Haitian American Community Council's management and required the director
and board members to affirm they have no conflicts of interest with the
agency's business.

The county Department of Community Services required the organization to
resolve four "areas of concern" resulting from a lack of strong board
oversight and failure to keep proper paperwork and get a computer program up
and running, said Sharon Nangle, the department's program monitor. The
county gave the council until Aug. 15 to resolve the problems.

To fix one of the organization's most pressing flaws, the county wants
council Director Daniella Henry and the five board members to acknowledge in
writing they have read and understand the organization's
conflict-of-interest rules, Nangle said.

The county had the same requirement after revelations Henry and the
organization's former supervisor, Gethro Louis Jean, purchased a house
together in West Palm Beach while they were co-workers. Louis Jean also
operated an immigration, personal-injury and translation company, Legacy
Service Center, using the council's Lantana address while he was employed by
the organization.

Nangle said the board is "weak and doesn't follow structure."

"It's not always clear who is running the show," she said.

The county this year gave the Haitian American Community Council $153,491 to
provide Haitian families with immigration assistance and social-services
referrals.

Carolyn Zimmerman, the council's board president, said the organization will
comply with all the county requirements. She said she didn't consider them a
problem to resolve.

"These are routine things, and I didn't see anything wrong," Zimmerman said.
"We'll do everything they tell us to do."

The county joined the Children's Services Council of Palm Beach County in
placing the Haitian council on a "corrective action plan." Children's
Services Council last week found that the Haitian group's Lantana office had
failed to properly train a worker and keep updated records and determined
that Henry and Louis Jean had a "nepotistic relationship." Children's
Services also demanded the group draft a conflict-of-interest statement and
have the staff and board sign it.

The county, in its annual review of the council's administration, found that
the organization needs to consider adding additional board members who
specialize in fund raising, finances and program development, Nangle said.
The council also needs to provide more information in its minutes of board
meetings than just a narrative of what happened, she said.

The council's other board members are Willie Jones, Barry Silver, Marie
Clerge and Mathias Honore, records show.

In addition, the review found the agency must do a better job of explaining
to its clients that certain immigration services cost money. They include
fees for work permits from Immigration and Naturalization Service and birth
certificates from the national archives in Haiti, Nangle said.

The county provided an additional $11,000 this year to create software to
track clients and to train the staff. The project is under way but hasn't
produced its first report.

Nangle said the review is intended to provide steps to tighten the
organization's management.

"We want to get them up to a higher-performing agency," she said.

Leon Fooksman can be reached at lfooksman@sun-sentinel.com.


Copyright © 2003, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

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