Twenty-four of the Head Start school programs funded through the 2009 stimulus — every program surveyed by the Department of Health and Humans Services (HHS) Inspector General (OIG) — have failed to comply fully with child protection laws, and 21 of those programs have failed to comply fully with requirements that they conduct appropriate background checks for employees hired to work in the Head Start program, according to a new report.
The inspector general, Daniel Levinson, said that “21 of 24 grantees [reveiewed] did not comply fully with Federal Head Start or State requirements to conduct criminal records checks, conduct recurring background checks, document criminal records checks, conduct checks of childcare exclusion lists, or conduct checks of child abuse and neglect registries.” Levinson also noted that “of the 24 Head Start grantees we reviewed, none complied fully with Federal Head Start or State requirements to protect children from unsafe materials and equipment.”
