Committee chair George Miller, D-Calif., has sent a letter to Education secretary Kathleen Sebelius asking her to investigate GAO’s findings.
"I request that HHS immediately review the grantees identified by the GAO investigation to determine what action is needed to ensure that grantees operating Head Start programs are complying with the law, including evaluating the appropriateness of the grantee continuing to receive Head Start funds, and determining whether the employees identified by the GAO investigation should be placed on administrative leave pending further investigation."
HHS’s assistant secretary for children and families, Carmen R. Nazario, told the committee that as soon as the department found out the names of the grantees it referred the cases to the HHS inspector general.
Nazario said she learned through GAO’s report that investigators had posed as parents or grandparents with preschool aged children in 15 situations and allegedly uncovered about eight instances where a Head Start employee made a determination that a child was eligible for services despite evidence that the family’s income exceeded the eligibility limit.
The HHS IG however told her office to back off of any investigative or disciplinary actions implicated in the study while the investigation proceeds.