Dear Mr. Rojas,

I appreciate your response. There are some serious trust issues, in that the community has been deceived or fed false information in the past, as well as the present. As we stated to you at the parent meetings we want the TRUTH. CANDOR AND HONESTY are the most important factors and lack of them are a deal breaker as far as regaining the parents' and community's trust. We cannot be full partners at the table in improving the center if we are continuously given inaccurate and misleading information. I hope from this moment forward the City will begin to be honest with the parents. We welcome the positive change.

In regards to discussing personnel issues, we had believed it was on the table because you placed it there. At both meetings you had stated to the parents that Aaron Johnson had not lived up to his responsibilities by hiring staff and implementing programs in a timely manner. In fact, you had asked the parents at the October 29th meeting if we felt that "Mr. Johnson was at some level also responsible for the programming at Onetta Harris." We were taken aback by the question because for one thing, we were there to talk about the After-School program, not Aaron Johnson's job performance. We had mentioned that the Belle Haven community was told one of the reasons that Ms. Carlisle was being removed in the middle of the fiscal year was because her transfer would free up much needed monies in the budget crunch for programing at OHCC last Spring. The parents were very skeptical of the City's motives to move Ms. Carlisle in the middle of the school year. Parents had requested for the sake of our children's emotional development and bond with Ms. Carlisle if the move had to happen it should occur in June of 2007. We were asking the question because it occurred to us that maybe the City was not being fully honest about the Carlisle move since all of the things promised in her place never came to fruition last Spring.

We were not in a position to answer the personnel performance question you asked of us. Thus, at the second meeting I made sure to include Mr. Johnson in the conversation and he adamantly refuted the statements you and Ms. George made about him having free reign to hire staff and implement programming. In fact, all of his hiring recommendations were ignored and programming requests were denied. Given his excellent track record in youth activities and dedication to the community for over 3 decades, he has our fullest trust and belief.

We did not know that personnel issues were inappropriate, as you had opened the door and asked the parents if we thought Mr. Johnson was ultimately responsible for the programming. As it turned out, Ms. Santos George has blocked his ability to do so and stated as such when she said that she had staled all program changes and hiring at the center because the City was reorganizing the Community Services Department in January. It was not a truly honest nor appropriate question to be asked by the City Manager, especially since you were fully aware of the reorganization at the time.

How could we answer the question if we thought that a City employees job performance was adequate, especially if we do not know his full job description and responsibilities? Our focus is on the after-school program and why the City has not kept its promises to the Belle Haven community after the minor reorganizing of our Assistant Program Coordinator in February. We would be more than happy to discuss other employees and their job performance within Community Services Department if we are provided with the organizational charts, consultants findings and recommendations as well as the City's disciplinary procedures. However, we cannot answer your question about Mr. Johnson's responsibilities if we are blinded sided with no information. We were not prepared to answer questions about Mr. Johnson's performance, we were prepared to speak of Nancy Nuckolls lack of supervision and negligence to the children of the After-School Program. It is felt by the parents that addressing the lack of supervision that led to the licensing violations were far more urgent.

Keep in mind, these are our children not lawns to be mowed or pools to be cleaned. It is essential that the workers that care for our kids on a daily basis be professional, well trained, and actually interact with the children instead of watch them from afar. To insure this happens we must comment on staff's behavior or lack of performance. The very nature of this business makes it one that you cannot separate the person from the job. So again we ask that the Program Coordinator of the After-School program come up with some way for parents to put their observations in writing so that we do not have another incident like this year, where a staff member is having inappropriate physical contact with the children, the parents had complained, the staff member was spoken to and repeadily warned but when the interim Program Coordinator came in had no idea that she should not consider rehiring him. Find a way to protect our children first, before you protect the workers and City. Find a way to make people accountable to the parents and community, yet protect their personnel files. It looks like the City may have to give a little more attention to policy issues in Belle Haven. This is part of moving forward with the parents, and my ideas will save you controversy, public scrutiny and lawsuits in the future.

My purpose is not to be combative. There were over a dozen parent concerns brought to the City last year, almost all led to the licensing violations simply because the parents were ignored. The City does not honestly listen to the community and is very condescending in how it interacts with the people of Belle Haven. We are lied to as if we would never figure out the truth. Things are said in Belle Haven public forums and then quickly dismissed as never being said to us, because it is thought that no one would believe us anyway. The whole licensing violation issue exemplifies that perfectly. The State of CA believes us.

We are frustrated with the way our government is running the center and covering up issues. This high level of frustration is clearly echoed throughout our dialog. We want to see change, not just talk of change, promises of commitments or fluff. The current improvement cannot be of a temporary nature just because the interim Program Coordinator is an individual of dynamic personality who is restructuring and retraining staff in just three short months but then gone in the blink of the eye. It must be translated into written public policy and daily directives to staff when the leadership torch is passed back to the regular Program Director who has been there for three years already. We are ready and willing to listen to the concrete policies, step-by-step strategies, curriculum development, enrichment concepts and staffing standards that will be implemented on a daily basis. We hope these policies exist.

Thank you for your time. I look forward to our next community meeting.

• Marcia Dore-Perez (415) 297-6009

  attached mail follows:

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Ms. Perez,  

Thank you for your email to the City Council dated December 3, 2007, in which you raise a number of issues that relate to programming, licensing and personnel at the Belle Haven After-School program.  

Programming

The City will continue to meet with parents and interested parties in the Belle Haven community in an attempt to obtain input on programming and to establish positive relationships that will lead to a higher level of trust. As you point out in your email the City has made improvements in the after school program. We are committed to continually improve over time. We believe that a partnership between the City and the Belle Haven community is essential to improving programming in the after school program as well as the Senior Center and Onetta Harris Community Center operations.  

Licensing

The City has responded to the licensing issues and continues to monitor the programs to ensure all requirements are being met at the highest standard. The city is in contact with the State licensing office to ensure we are kept up to date on any changes in the law.  

Personnel

Personnel assigned to work in Belle Haven and throughout the city are dedicated individuals who want to serve the community. Please know that management takes very seriously its responsibility to supervise evaluate and support excellent employee performance. However, it is inappropriate to engage in public debate about individual employee performance.  

The employees of the City have adopted a series of values that include in part; Accountability, Customer Service and Open Communication. These values are not just words but are practiced on a day to day basis and we strive to improve our service delivery each and every day. We appreciate feed back from the community that assists us in improving the services being provided in the community.    

Glen Rojas

City Manager    

From: MarciaIPerez@cs.com [mailto:MarciaIPerez@cs.com] Sent: Monday, December 03, 2007 11:46 AM To: George, Barbara S; Rojas, Glen
Cc: _CCIN; Cohen, Andy M; Boyle, John C; Cline, Richard A; Fergusson, Kelly J; Almanac News 2; Robinson, Heyward G; Johnson, Aaron Subject: Belle Haven  

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 Wed Dec 5 13:09:52 2007