St. Landry School Board lost Head Start grant after two children left unattended

By KATC Staff

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    ST. LANDRY PARISH, Louisiana (KATC) — The St. Landry Parish School System lost its Head Start grant after federal inspectors found that two children had been left unattended, records show.

KATC Investigates obtained records about the program from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families after receiving a release stating a new agency was taking over.

“The Head Start grant awarded to St. Landry Parish School Board was subjected to public competition as a result of two deficiencies identified in the program during a federal monitoring review of the agency,” a response from the Office of Communications states. “All Head Start programs are subject to a federal regulation called the Designation Renewal System (DRS) that holds Head Start and Early Head Start agencies accountable for delivering high-quality, comprehensive services to the children and families they serve and meeting certain programmatic and fiscal requirements.”

If an agency meets conditions, they don’t have to compete for Head Start funds for a five-year period, the response states. But if a problem is found, then open competitions are held in the community, and interested agencies can apply to provide Head Start and Early Head Start services, the response states.

That’s what happened in St. Landry’s case. St. Landry officials were notified on May 31 that their grant had been awarded to a group called Save The Children. The federal response states that officials are committed to minimizing any disruption to staff, students and their families.

The records show that there were two problems found during a federal review of the St. Landry Parish program. One involved a November 2018 incident and the other involved an October 2019 incident.

In November 2018, a three-year-old child was left alone on a school bus parked at the Opelousas Head Start Center. The child’s mother called the school after he arrived home and told her he had been stuck in the bus all day, where he “cried and slept.” The bus driver and attendants said the child wasn’t on the bus when they checked it after arriving at school, but the child also wasn’t in class because he was marked absent.

In the October 2019, a child was left in a classroom when his classmates and teachers went to recess at the Grand Coteau Head Start Center. A cook working there happened to find the child in the classroom after about 15 minutes, and took the child to the office. Staff told investigators they didn’t realize the child wasn’t with the rest of the class until they got back in the classroom.

“This was the grantee’s second incident within the last 12 months. The previous incident occurred on November 26, 2018, when a child was left behind on a bus for approximately 6 hours at the Opelousas Head Start Center,” the report on the Grand Coteau incident states. “The grantee did not ensure no child was left alone and unsupervised while under the care of its staff; therefore, it was not in compliance with the regulation.”

Earlier this month, Save the Children and the St. Landry Parish School Board issued the following joint press release:

“The Office of Head Start, through the Designation Renewal System (DRS), has named Save the Children Head Start to provide services within St. Landry Parish, Louisiana. Therefore, on July 1, 2023, the administration of the program will be the responsibility of Save the Children Head Start.

“Message from Grant Recipient Save the Children Head Start has been providing Head Start services since 2011. Currently, Save the Children Head Start operates Head Start and Early Head Start programs in rural communities in five states – Arkansas, Louisiana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee – serving more than 1,900 children and their families. In Louisiana specifically, the organization operates in Jefferson Davis, Evangeline, Red River, De Soto, and Natchitoches Parishes. We at Save the Children Head Start are excited about this opportunity to serve the children and families in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana. Our program will continue services to pregnant mothers and children birth to five years old, through Head Start and Early Head Start, in St. Landry Parish.

“Message from Incumbent Grant Recipient We, at St. Landry Parish School Board, were privileged to have served over 788 children, families and pregnant women each year over the last five years. Through these comprehensive services, we know that we have made a positive contribution to the children and families in our community. Under the leadership of the St. Landry Parish School Board, the Head Start and Early Head Start programs are rated “High Proficient” by the Louisiana Department of Education according to the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS). We are confident that Save the Children Head Start will continue to provide important and quality Head Start and/or Early Head Start services. We offer them our best wishes for success.

“Joint statement: Both we at St. Landry Parish School Board and Save the Children Head Start are committed to a seamless transition and continuity of services. We want to assure the community that Head Start/Early Head Start services will continue in our community. In the next weeks, we, St. Landry Parish School Board and Save the Children Head Start will notify the families and the community regarding next steps. It is important to both agencies that the community is informed.”

We’ve reached out to St. Landry Parish officials for reaction to the findings of the federal agency, and we’ll update this story as soon as we receive a response.

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