FORT DUCHESNE, Uintah County -- Head Start officials in Washington, D.C., have given the Ute Indian Tribe Head Start until February 2000 to purge serious deficiencies from its program.
Head Start is a federally funded early education program directed toward children ages 3 to 5 and their families.In July 1998, federal Head Start officials met with Ute Tribe Head Start administrators, the tribe's governing Business Committee and the Parent Policy Council and helped them compile a lengthy Quality Improvement Plan.
The federal officials gave them a year to correct three serious areas in which they were found to be "deficient" and clear up 59 "non-compliances."
Deficiencies included a lack of parental involvement in the Head Start program, a severe lack of "fiscal viability," and "no capacity within the Ute Tribe for program management and monitoring of Head Start activities."
In a 10-page letter written last month to the tribe, Helen Scheirbeck, chief of the American Indian Programs Branch for Head Start, reported that none of the three deficiencies had been corrected, and there were still 41 non-compliances that were not addressed.
She informed the tribe they would be given till Feb. 10 to comply with Head Start regulations, or lose its grantee status. The tribe receives $1.3 million annually in federal Head Start funding to operate the program.
Acting Head Start director and tribal attorney Sandy Hansen says that while the violations are serious, they pertain mainly to management and administration of the program and not to problems that could jeopardize the safety or well-being of children.
"Our primary deficiency is a lack of written management policy and procedures. The deficiency that most directly related to children was the lack of a curriculum. We purchased one last February and will use it this year," Hansen said.
LaDora Cobb, the former Head Start program specialist out of Washington, D.C., who worked with the tribe until her recent reassignment, explained that while each Head Start "grantee" is given flexibility to structure its program to fit cultural needs, they are still required to follow federal Head Start policy to remain eligible for federal funding.
Should the tribe's Head Start grantee status be taken away, an "alternative agency" would take on the role of providing Head Start services to community children and their families, but Hansen says that won't happen.
"We have our work cut out for us over the next six months, but in the next two years we want to win the award for being the best program in the country. That's a dream that myself and members of the Business Committee are committed to," Hansen said.
The commitment includes coming into compliance with federal Head Start requirements, increasing training for Head Start teachers, staff and parents, monitoring of the program's progress in writing, reducing high turnover rates -- there have been nine directors since 1993 who have either resigned or been fired -- and forming committees to address areas of concern.
Hansen and the Business Committee said they believe the National Head Start office owes the tribe more follow-up assistance and more training for new directors.
"Last year neither the Business Committee nor Washington, D.C., required us to provide updates on our progress in implementing our Quality Improvement Plan, and this (school) year Washington demanded that we provide monthly updates, said Hansen, adding that she anticipates the Business Committee will want weekly updates.
Hansen said the tribe is taking its advertisements for a new director to head the program to a nationwide audience after posting the job in the tribal newspaper for the past few weeks. Hiring of key administrators is also taking place, she said.