WASHINGTON — The fallout continues in Prince George’s County, Maryland, where a scandal involving its Head Start program ended up costing the county millions in federal funding. Now, a fired Head Start worker is speaking out.
Demetrius Deal told NBC Washington she was surprised that problems she reported to her boss never ended up in a federal review of the program.
Deal said that she and her boss were among six employees with the Prince George’s County Head Start program who have been fired or have been recommended to be fired. Head Start is a federally funded program for early education.
For 18 years, it was Deal’s job to report problems, and she said that she never failed to report issues to her superior. She also said she filed the appropriate documents for each incident.
So when the scandal over the program blew up several weeks ago, Deal said she was confused since she had already reported the problems.
“I was just surprised,” she told NBC Washington. “They were acting as if this never happened.”
Deal said she didn’t know why her reports never made it to the federal government and said that they should have.
Meanwhile on Thursday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced new federal standards for Head Start, which has served more than 33 million children from low-income families since it started in 1965.
The new standards — the first since Head Start standards were first published in 1975 — include increasing the amount of time children spend in the program. Research shows that children who spent more time in Head Start experienced better outcomes, according to a Health and Human Services press release.
In addition, educational and curriculum requirements are being expanded. Best teaching practices will be incorporated into the program, and there will be more opportunities for parents to engage and participate in program activities.
Deals spoke with NBC Washington:
