MPS Head Start funding suspended after allegations of abuse, improper supervision of kids

Rory Linnane, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Updated ·5 min read

Milwaukee Public Schools is losing federal Head Start funding for the rest of the month after federal officials said they discovered incidents of maltreatment, physical abuse, verbal abuse and lack of supervision in the district's programs, records show.

The federal agency, the Administration for Children and Families, suspended funding for MPS on May 21 because of deficiencies in three areas: appropriate supervision, correction of safety problems and proper training for staff.

Head Start is a free, federally funded preschool program that also offers social services. MPS operates 37 Head Start sites with full-day K3 and K4 programs.

The district could continue to go without federal funding if ACF does not find that it has corrected the problems. District officials said they are working to "correct issues identified" and will use MPS funds to sustain the program during the suspension of federal funds.

The district's current five-year grant from ACF was set to end May 30, MPS officials said. The district applied in November for another five-year grant, a MPS spokesperson said, and expects a decision in the next few weeks.

MPS is expecting to get about $10.5 million in Head Start funding for the next school year, according to the district's budget plan.

Previous notices from federal agency raised alarms about safety problems

The Administration for Children and Families notified MPS in a April 26 letter about problems it had uncovered, federal records show, including two incidents related to transportation:

  • Two 3-year-old children were dropped off by a bus outside Barack Obama School of Career and Technical Education on Nov. 7, 2023, with no authorized adult to receive them. One child walked toward the playground, and the other child was found by a school safety officer a block away.

  • A 3-year-old was dropped off by a bus at the wrong school Jan. 17, 2024. The child was in the parking lot for three minutes before a staff member found the child.

The April letter also noted ACF had warned MPS about safety issues in its Head Start programs in January 2023, March 2023 and July 2023. The ACF noted that MPS had not "remedied the issues," which included lack of supervision, failure to maintain required teacher/child ratios and child maltreatment.

Among the prior incidents the ACF had raised: A staff member at Marvin Pratt School noticed that two 3-year-old children were unsupervised on a fenced playground at the school on May 15, 2023. Security camera footage showed the children had been left unsupervised for 10 minutes.

More: What to know about Head Start preschool programs in Wisconsin

Before suspension, MPS was unable to convince federal agency it had resolved safety issues

After receiving the April letter, MPS had a chance to dispute and correct the issues. Records show MPS requested an informal meeting May 2 to demonstrate why the district should not lose the funding. At the meeting, MPS said it had enhanced communication, training, monitoring and mental health consultations, according to ACF records. The agency was not swayed, the letter shows, noting MPS "failed to show it did not cause harm to participants' health and safety."

After the May 2 meeting, ACF found MPS had failed to show that children were adequately supervised between their buses and their homes, failed to show that it had corrected problems with oversight of safety protocols, and failed to show that staff had been adequately trained to "not maltreat or endanger" children.

On May 16, ACF notified MPS it would lose its funding May 21 for 30 days, records show.

"Given the repeated nature of the multiple child health and safety incidents at MPS since June 2022, ACF is unpersuaded that MPS action steps will prevent further incidents," the letter states.

Nicole Armendariz, communications director for MPS, said the district has created a "responsive action plan" to address the issues raised by ACF.

"Any time an issue is identified related to the health or safety of children, MPS takes action to address the situation," she said in a statement.

State agency also lists MPS Head Start violations

Additionally, state officials have identified numerous violations at MPS Head Start facilities, which are documented on the state Department of Children and Families' Child Care Finder website.

A spokesperson for the state agency said that while Head Start programs are supposed to self-report violations to both the federal and state agencies, MPS, in some cases, has "reported to one agency but not the other."

Earlier this year, DCF and the ACF held a "full review of all MPS violations" to make sure both agencies were aware of all of the incidents, according to DCF Deputy Communications Director Jamie Keehn.

While the state DCF has authority over licensed child care programs, public schools that operate Head Start programs are exempt from needing licenses from DCF, Keehn said. However, the department still provides regular onsite monitoring of the programs to ensure they comply with state administrative rules.

DCF's website describes numerous violations of administrative rules at Metcalfe's Head Start program in 2023 for similar concerns cited by ACF, including:

  • "Suspected child abuse and neglect was not reported when multiple concerns regarding a staff member were brought to attention. Administrative staff stated they did not report upon learning of the allegations and 'believe someone else may have.'"

  • "Upon entrance to the facility, children were observed running out of the classroom and around the building."

  • "An individual helping in the classroom during licensing visit was observed pulling a child by their arms from the hallway, through the doorway, and into the classroom. Multiple reports were received by the Department regarding a staff member using prohibited actions towards children in care, including but not limited to, shoving a child resulting in child hitting their head, pulling a child's arm, holding children's heads and pulling children roughly into a seated position."

  • "Staff were observed screaming at children throughout licensing visit... Multiple statements were received regarding staff grabbing children and yelling in their faces."

At other sites, violations listed on the DCF website include a lack of documentation for background checks on staff and lack of safety trainings.

Armendariz said the district has implemented additional safety training for Head Start staff, provided "resources regarding active supervision," and created materials that provide daily safety reminders in classrooms.

Contact Rory Linnane at rory.linnane@jrn.com. Follow her on X (Twitter) at @RoryLinnane.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: MPS Head Start funding suspended after abuse allegations