16125: (Hermantin)Palm Beach Post-$140,000 urged for Haitian council (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Sunday, July 13

$140,000 urged for Haitian council


By Gariot Louima, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 10, 2003



Even though the Haitian American Community Council has "not complied with
funding requirements," Palm Beach County officials recommended Wednesday the
agency receive a $140,000 grant next year.

However, the proposal represents a $13,495 reduction from the amount of
money the council received this year from the county.

In their recommendation to the county commission, Department of Community
Services staff members said the Haitian American agency's managers "have not
been able to document information as requested; have not implemented changes
as outlined by monitoring staff."

Furthermore, the agency's reports are consistently late and its application
for more money was incomplete, according to staff. Budget forms were
incomplete.

Assistant County Administrator Jean Creamer said the proposed cut in money
is a preliminary recommendation to the commission, now working to balance a
$3.1 billion spending plan for the budget year beginning Oct. 1. The agency
could get more money because county commissioners set aside up to $2.6
million to be split among more than 50 social service agencies.

The county will review the council's records again before making a final
recommendation to the commission, she said.

By contrast, the county staff recommended giving $108,000 to the Haitian
Center for Family Services in West Palm Beach because the center's employees
"provide a necessary and vital service to the Haitian population and will be
doing western county outreach." The group provides timely reports and shows
effective outcomes, staff said. The center asked for $64,000 to run one of
its programs.

Last month, the county gave Daniella Henry, the Haitian American Community
Council's founder and executive director, an Aug. 15 deadline to straighten
out administrative problems. County officials said then that Henry and the
council's board of directors should receive training in how to conduct board
meetings properly, sign affidavits confirming they are in compliance with
conflict-of-interest rules and hire qualified managers to oversee the
council's immigration services program.

Managers at the Haitian council said they received a letter from the county
saying the commission was considering reducing its allocation to the
council. But they did not know officials were forwarding any criticisms to
the commission.

Still, board President Carolyn Zimmerman said she isn't surprised by the
negative comments, considering how closely the council has been scrutinized
in recent weeks.

"When you get a lot of bad press, people tend to get scared," she said. "The
fact of the matter is no one has stopped to think what Delray Beach and the
rest of the county would be like if Daniella and I didn't stop to create
this agency. We've helped people so they aren't a drag on society."

Zimmerman said there might be some minor administrative issues, but the
agency has never wavered from its goal to serve Haitian immigrants.

"We've never had any problems," she said. "If we're not taking care of these
people, I don't know who will. We're the only ones taking care of people for
free."

Palm Beach County is among a handful of agencies investigating the
decade-old agency, which receives more than $800,000 annually from several
nonprofit and government groups.

The Children Services Council also saw faults in a family service program
offered by the Haitian council. A review found Henry had been involved in a
nepotistic relationship with a former employee with whom she co-owned a
house. That relationship led to an internal rift and the firing of three
staff members, including the deputy director, Karlie Richardson.

Later West Palm Beach launched its own investigation into alleged
improprieties in an Haitian American Community Council program that finds
homes for AIDS patients and pays their rent.

Staff writers Nirvi Shah and Kathleen Chapman contributed to this story.

gariot_louima@pbpost.com

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