LITTLE ROCK — The federal Health and Human Services Department is working with a Russellville-based operation to keep the doors open at 30 Head Start centers in Arkansas, a spokesman said Wednesday.
The centers run by Child Development Inc., serving about 2,300 children in 13 counties, reopened Wednesday after a one-day shutdown because of a funding shortfall.
“We are very closely monitoring the situation to make sure that the education and services continue for the Head Start children that are being funded to be served,” said Kenneth Wolfe, deputy public affairs director for the Administration for Children and Families at DHHS.
“The grantee determined that it just didn’t have enough funds, and you are not allowed to do that, so we are working to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” Wolfe said.
He said funding for 1,300 children to attend the centers is provided through the federal Head Start program.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Amy Webb, spokeswoman for the state Department of Human Services, said 388 of the students attend through the state-funded Arkansas Better Chance pre-school program. Fees for the rest apparently are paid privately, she said.
“Our division of child care and early childhood education has been in contact with the facility all week, so we’re aware of the situation and at this point we don’t have any information, or indication that any state money was misspent,” Webb said.
“We will go in there once they get this issue cleared, and we will make sure all the state stuff was handled properly, but we have not done that yet,” she said.
Webb described CDI as a “real high-quality program” that had not been a problem in the past. In a statement Wednesday, CDI said the 30 centers it operates were open and that the company’s management staff and board were working with state, regional and federal agencies to resolve payroll issues.
With a new fiscal year for the federally funded Head Start program beginning Wednesday, management “does not expect any further interruption of service to the families and children served by Child Development Inc.,” the company said.
“Services to the children and families we serve remain a priority while we seek funding sources to make our payroll,” Jana Bays, CDI’s assistant executive director, said in a news release.
Bays said Tuesday the company used its Russellville headquarters as collateral to pay make its employee payroll last month.
Bettye Williams, chairwoman of CDI’s board of directors, did not immediately respond to a message left for her at company headquarters Wednesday. CDI operates 30 centers in Arkansas, Conway, Desha, Franklin, Johnson, Lincoln, Logan, Lonoke, Perry, Pope, Polk, Scott and Yell counties.