DHS ASSISTANT DIRECTOR LACKS KNOWLEDGE OF NORMAL BEHAVIOR OF CHILDREN

 

ARELENE ROSE

Arlene Rose, assistant director for operations and program development with the state Division of Childcare and Early Childhood Education with the Arkansas Department of Human Services appears to be out in the cold when it comes to recognizing normal childhood behavior.

In comments she made to  a reporter for the Arkansas Democrat Gazette in regard to an increasing number of children being expelled from daycare centers for biting behavior, she launched into a rant about a program DHS recently launched, stealing funding from other existing programs, that is supposed to reduce expulsions and suspensions in early-learning settings.

Rose stated, "It is a huge project, but I tell you, the reception overall has been very positive," Rose said. "We know that there has been a need. Even prior to launch, I would hear providers talk about challenges that they've experienced with children. You know, they would be at their wits' end asking, 'What do we do?'"

Rose grinned widely as she leaned forward and tapped her finger on a glossy picture of a pyramid.

"It excites me," she said. "I just think, 'What can we do for those babies that's really going to help them be successful?' This is near and dear to my heart, it really is. I just believe that every child can be saved."

A problem that DHS and Rose cannot get around in determining a true need for this wasteful project is that there are no records or statistics that document exactly how many toddlers have been expelled or suspended from Arkansas daycare centers. 

That's right, there are no Arkansas-specific statistics on how many children up to 5 years old have been suspended or expelled.

"The short answer is that we don't have data because we didn't previously track this, but we have now started to do so and should have some data at some point in the near future," said Amy Webb, a spokesman for the Human Services Department.

AMY WEBB

Look at Amy try and put a spin on the fact the DHS launched a program, hired additional staff, took funds from other programs before it is even documented that there is a problem with daycare expulsions in Arkansas.

The Arkansas Democrat Gazette story began with the experience one parent of two children had to deal with when the daycare center they attended expelled or told the mother her children were not welcome at the center after one of the children bit another child.

The Arkansas Democrat Gazette did not attempt to speak with the daycare center and determine if there were other issues that led to their refusal to care for the children.

Rose's comment, "I just believe that every child can be saved", implies that biting behavior is abnormal and is a gateway behavior to a doomed life.

Where does DHS get all these buffoons from?

Biting is a normal toddler behavior when the are dealing with anger or stress.  Early Childhood Development 101.  Maybe Rose missed that day or slept through that class.

Arkansas has the lowest requirements of any state as far as the education that is required to serve as a child care provider according to Nicola Edge, a UAMS associate professor in family and preventive medicine.

"Biting is really normal. It's going to happen in day care centers," Edge said. "The specialists can say, 'Here's a little pamphlet that's going to tell you what to do when children bite. Here's a pamphlet you can talk through with parents and that will tell the parents how to respond. Check back with me in two weeks, and let's see if that met your needs.'"

The real problem here is that DHS did not change the minimum requirement for daycare teachers when the overhauled it minimum licensing requirements for child-care centers in 2014.  They are using standards developed in 1945.

Uneducated daycare staff and their inability to deal with normal toddler behavior is a problem that DHS could have corrected in 2014 by strengthening requirements for daycare personnel.

DHS would rather hold bi-weekly meetings, spend money on an undocumented, made up problem rather than change 71 year old standards.

 

 

FORMER DHS WORKER ADMITS THAT SHE ACCEPTED BRIBES TO ILLEGALLY DISPERSE $6 MILLION IN FEDERAL FUNDS

A former state employee admitted Tuesday that she took bribes for nearly three years to permit two other women to obtain $6 million in federal funds by falsely claiming they fed underprivileged children in after-school and summer nutrition programs.

TONIQUE HATTON

Tonique Hatton, 39, of North Little Rock, flanked by defense attorneys Stuart Vess and Christian Alexander, pleaded guilty in a federal courtroom in Little Rock to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and receipt of a bribe.

Both charges centered on Hatton's job at the state Department of Human Services, which served as the administrator for the feeding programs, which were funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jana Harris said Hatton's responsibilities included processing applications from people who applied to be sponsors to feed low-income children and later be reimbursed through the federal government. Her duties included determining the sponsors' eligibility and approving their proposed feeding sites.

From January 2012 through August 2014, Hatton and another state worker, Gladys Elise Waits, also known as Gladys Elise King, approved paperwork allowing Jacqueline Mills of Helena-West Helena and Kattie Jordan of Dermott to be sponsors and submit claims, despite knowing that the women planned to commit fraud, Harris said. She said Hatton and Waits also helped Mills and Jordan avoid detection.

 

GLADYS ELISE WAITS

JACQUELINE D. MILLS

Mills operated approved feeding sites in cities including Helena-West Helena and Marianna, through which she received more than $2.5 million in federal funds. Jordan operated approved sites in cities including Dermott, Dumas, Eudora and Lake Village, through which she received more than $3.5 million in federal funds. Both Mills and Jordan claimed they fed far more children than they actually did, Harris said.

Waits pleaded guilty March 30 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and receipt of a bribe, and is awaiting sentencing. If she and Hatton hadn't pleaded guilty, both would be joining three other people in a jury trial that is to begin Oct. 17 in the Little Rock courtroom of U.S. District Judge James Moody Jr.

In return for Hatton's guilty pleas, for which she will be sentenced in about 90 days, Moody granted Harris' request to dismiss 26 individual counts of bribery against Hatton.

In the courtroom, Harris said Hatton accepted $30,770 in bribe checks made out to her, and another $62,700 in bribe checks made out to a relative of hers.

Although an indictment lists 27 checks that it says Hatton received from Mills and Jordan during the nearly three-year period, Hatton pleaded guilty to a single bribery charge, admitting that she accepted a $16,000 check from Mills on May 25, 2013.

Still, as part of the plea agreement, Hatton agreed that "every bit" of the allegations against her in the indictment were true.

The indictment listed checks to Hatton that ranged from $5,000 to $16,000. The memo lines of the checks were occasionally left blank, but in most cases indicated the checks were used to pay for furniture, supplies, food, mileage, setup fees, travel and building materials.

Harris didn't say whether the checks covered some legitimate expenses as well as the fraudulent expenses. However, she told Moody that the amount of restitution that will be due by each of the defendants hasn't yet been agreed upon. If the restitution can't be worked out before sentencing, Harris said, the parties will let the court decide the amounts each defendant owes.

Those still awaiting trial in the case are Mills; Dortha Harper, also known as Dorothy Harper, of England; and Waits' estranged husband, Anthony Leon Waits, also of England.

 

ANTHONY LEON WAITS

The conspiracy charge against Hatton is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, while the bribery charge is punishable by a maximum of 10 years in prison. Each charge also carries a potential fine of up to $250,000.

While federal sentencing guidelines will help determine a recommended penalty range within the statutory requirements, Harris said Hatton's plea agreement includes enhancements for abusing a position of trust, accepting more than one bribe and for the amount of loss involved in the scheme.

She said Hatton has agreed to forfeit to the government $17,681 that she has in a bank account, to be put toward her restitution.

Hatton wasn't asked in the courtroom to explain her guilt in her own words, and she declined to comment after the hearing when asked what motivated her to commit the crimes.

We knew what motivated her...greed and lack of internal controls by the Arkansas Department of Human Services. 

BACK IN 2014 DHS DIRECTOR JOHN SELIG ADMITTED LACK OF CONTROLS PERMITTED "BAD ACTORS" TO PLUNDER THE PROGRAM DHS ADMINISTERED.

The federal government contracted with DHS to process applications from would-be sponsors, which included reviewing their budgets and the sites where they intended to provide food, to ensure they were eligible to participate. DHS then administered the federal funds to the pre-approved sponsors.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jana Harris pointed out that DHS bore some responsibility by allowing the fraud to occur. "Because their applications had been approved for a specified number of sites and a specified number of children who could be fed at the sites, inflated claims were approved and paid by DHS without further scrutiny," Harris said.