Dear Barbara & Glen,

    Thank you for meeting with some of the parents last Thursday, November 29. We are hopeful that the City will have a deep commitment in improving the standards and sub-quality care our children have been receiving in the Belle Haven After-School Program. We look forward to making much needed improvements.  As mention by the parents, accountability is a huge factor in insuring that this commitment will be carried through. It is essential that all City personnel take very seriously the job of caring for our children . For this reason, we had asked that the Recreational Supervisor, Nancy Nuckolls, who was in charge of overseeing and supervising the operations of the Belle Haven program during the period of multiple licensing violations be reprimanded. It is requested that in fairness to all City employees that policies be carried out with an even hand. We ask that the then Recreation Supervisor in charge of maintaining the safety of the Belle Haven facility be reprimanded for the following reasons:

1. During the first week of August 2007 when the Program Coordinator, Natasha Watkins, left for maternity leave but before the Interim Program Coordinator was hired, the center went one week without any licensed employee present to meet the ratios. Thus the State of California cited and fined the City. The Supervisor was well aware for over six months that the coordinator was leaving for maternity leave yet did nothing to insure the consistency in care and safety for the children of Belle Haven.
2. The Supervisor did not step into the shoes of the Prog Coordinator and run the program herself when it was apparent the City did not have someone hired in a timely manner to replace Natasha Watkins. Ms. Nuckolls did not come to the facility site and assist the recreational staff in running the program. The recreational staff is not qualified nor licensed to run the center at any time during the day without a qualified teacher on the premises. In addition, any qualified teacher on the premises counting toward the ratio must give their 100% undivided attention to the children and not be distracted by cooking, administrating the program or leave before the center closes. As the Rec Supervisor entrusted with the safety of Belle Haven children all regulations should have been followed. This disregard for the licensing requirements resulted in a violation and fine.
3. When the knife incident took place on Friday, August 3, the supervisor did not meet with the family or staff at the time of the parent/child/staff meeting the following Tuesday. The aftermath of the incident was left up to unlicensed recreational staff to implement city policies regarding the disciplining of children who violate safety violations. Unqualified rec staff were not aware of the policies reserved for supervisor's discretionary or mandated decisions. The Rec Supervisor should have had direct and ultimate control of the situation and spoke with the parents. This lack of supervision of the children and placing them in harms way has led to a state violation.
4. The Supervisor neglected to following licensing procedures to insure that the staff was fingerprinted properly for the safety of our children. The City was cited and fined.
5. The Supervisor oversaw and permitted the hiring of under-age workers to lead children's groups as if they were qualified adults. Our children were left in the care of other children thus creating an unsafe conditions and led to low quality care of our Belle Haven children. This too was a licensing violation that resulted in a citation and fine to the City.

    There seems to be a culture of permitting sub-quality care at the Belle Haven site. It was not until after the violations did the City show any interest nor make the time investment in improving the center. To regain the trust of parents and the community with our children, the City must send a strong message to City personnel that the children of Belle Haven are just as important as all other children in Menlo Park. Their need for care and safety are absolutely a priority. If Supervisors are not held accountable for caring out their job duties the lax standards will again permeate and go unnoticed. This will create an ongoing situation by which the quality of care and safety will never reach minimal standards. At the meeting, this was identified as the one of the main reasons that have allowed the situation at Belle Haven to deteriorate over time.

    It has been the past and present policy of the City of Menlo Park to reprimand supervisors, or even terminate their employment, who have not supervised their staff satisfactorily. The state licensing violations are proof positive that the Rec Supervisor did not carry out her duties in a diligent nor responsible manner. It is the hope of the community that there is not a veil of favoritism and selective censure within the Community Services Department that the City is unwilling to pierce. No employee on the tax dole should be above reproach. It is understood that the public is not entitled to be informed of these internal personnel proceedings, however, if future violations arise the records could be subpoenaed.

    Although the parents do appreciate the attention you have recently given the center and the temporary improvements by the interim Program Coordinator have been commendable, you must understand our deep frustration in that we have been struggling and fighting for quality care for almost a year now. In the past, the City has failed us and failed to address any of these important issues, as well as, tackle the problems in a timely manner. So now, part of moving forward and finding solutions is adequately identifying past problems and correcting them before you can move forward with a strong policy and community support. It is most unfortunate that licensing violations and fines have finally brought us all to the table to seek out solutions. We are truly committed to the improvement of our center. We do hope this is a sincere effort on the City's part. Thank you.

Marcia Perez
Dawn Platt
Carmelite Souffrant
Jackie Thomas     Received on Mon Dec 3 13:26:00 2007