PCOC UNDER THE GUN AS INVESTIGATORS HEAD TO BARTOW

The Polk County Opportunity Council is a community action agency which is mandated with helping the poor and disadvantaged in Polk County; it also operates the local Head Start program. PCOC has a rather shady history, with several employees --- including a former Executive Director --- going to jail for theft.

Lately they've been mired in more controveresy, thanks to the current Executive Director accepting a free trip to Las Vegas under the guise of training for a new copier after signing a no-bid contract with Canon, the PCOC Board of Directors refusing to seat an individual to serve as the City of Bartow's representative, as well as a discrimination lawsuit (which was dismissed) by a former finance director. Now they've got a federal investigation to deal with --- the second inquiry in six years.

The eye this time is on the relationship between PCOC and the Heartland Economic Development Authority, which rents the buildings that house PCOC's Head Start program. Their addresses are the same, and their boards of directors consist of the same people. HEDA was formed due to federal restrictions on PCOC's owning of property.

Seems as though a federal audit five years ago showed that HEDA overcharged Uncle Sam $16,000 for rental on buildings used to house PCOC's Head Start programs. Not only that, HEDA "improperly charged $5,000 to Head Start parents, and failed to spend $62,000 of agency funds in a timely matter".

The federal Administration for Children and Families is conducting the investigation after a request by Congressman Adam Putnam (R - Bartow). Now I've slammed Putnam in the past for being no more than a lap dog for the Bush Administration, but this time he's on the mark. While the programs PCOC offers are worthy and certainly needed (my daughter went through PCOC's Head Start program, and her mother was a very active volunteer at the centre), we have to be diligiant that it's administration isn't rotten to the core. This agency has been through a lot, thanks to people who were looking out for themselves instead of their clients, and it would be a shame to see more of the same going on again.