PCOC NEEDS EMERGENCY SURGERY...AND MAYBE THAT WON'T HELP

I have written here how disappointed I am in the actions of the board of directors and management team at the Polk County Opportunity Council, the area's community action agency mandated to help low income residents and is best known as provider for the Head Start programme in Polk County. PCOC's financial management woes have been common knowledge for some time, and this week the Florida Department of Community Affairs placed the agency on a one year probation.

This morning's Lakeland Ledger reports the findings of a team of 11 specialists from Mid-Iowa Community Action who visited the PCOC offices in Bartow for a week during October. The team was hired by DCA as consultants to determine what could be done to help the agency, which has a staff of 169 and budget of $12.4 million.

Their findings were not promising, painting a picture of what the Ledger story called a "dysfunctional" board and an "inept and untruthful" executive director, all without a clue.

Among the findings in it's 13 page report:

--- Executive Director Carolyn Speed "consistently misstated how changes took place in the employment of several individuals." And "several employees in agency management positions are directly related to the executive director."

--- PCOC's adherence to equal opportunity hiring was questioned by MICA. "Many job openings were not advertised outside the organization."

--- Financial consultants have been heavily relied upon since Sept.1, but the existing staff could not produce statements of revenue and expenses. The accounting system can't generate accurate historical data from which to determine an accurate starting point for a new database.

--- The weatherization coordinator (who helps to provide poor people with services such as home insulation) receives no supervision. MICA found one instance in which a contractor was paid before doing his job, and there was no written documentation of the work being finished.

--- PCOC has been cited in several recent program monitoring reports for failing to have a detailed inventory that listed equipment by identifying what agency's money was used to purchase it. But "661 of the 700 items listed on the equipment inventory records examined do not contain cost data," and 130 items couldn't be found.

--- PCOC is overcharging the federal government for the value of time and mileage of Head Start parents who bring their kids to and from school. On the other hand, the agency has been paying a federal unemployment tax that non-profit agencies are exempt from.

--- PCOC usually has a scapegoat for its problems. "PCOC lacks organizational coherence and focus. Interviews and conversations with staff and board members revealed a lack of a firm understanding of the organization's current situation and a shared vision of its mission. The most widely shared perspective is that the organization's problems are the responsibility of parties outside the organization. There appears to be no meaningful communication throughout the organization . . ."

--- "The PCOC board of directors exercises very little meaningful responsibility for the operations and well-being of the organization. The board primarily ratifies actions and decisions already made by the staff. . . . Few of the board members interviewed demonstrated a clear understanding 1) of the board's legal responsibilities, 2) the nature of the findings and deficiencies identified by major funders (Head Start and the Florida Department of Community Affairs), and 3) the gravity of the threat to the organization's funding and corporate viability. The board did not recognize that the financial information presented to it was incomplete and insufficient for it to make decisions."The situation has deteriorated to the point that board members expressed frustration with having to make decisions without adequate information from the staff. Staff members expressed frustration that there is no point providing the board with detailed information that the board does not understand. Consequently, the board is regularly asked to make important decisions based on little or no supporting information."

--- "Head Start staff did not provide to the assessment team in a timely manner information (contracts, work plans) that should have been readily available, despite being repeatedly asked for that information."

--- Only a half dozen or so PCOC board members regularly attend meetings.

--- "PCOC management cannot provide the Board of Directors with a reliable picture of the overall financial condition of the agency."

As sad as it is for me to say, I fully believe that it's time to strip PCOC of it's funding and let another organization step up to provide these services. This type of ineptness only provides fuel for conservative mouthpieces such as Congressman Adam Putnam (R - Bartow) to call for additional cuts in programmes to help our low income neighbours.