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StumbleOnce-troubled Urban League bests UNLV for child care services contract
Sandy Wilson, a trainer at UNLV, stands on a chair Wednesday to demonstrate how children perceive adults while teaching a class for people hoping to become licensed child care providers.
Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010 | 2 a.m.
Morse Arberry
Sun Archives
- Urban League taps assemblyman to right its ship (4-24-2009)
- Urban League can't salvage plan to train ex-cons (3-27-2009)
- Will new leader run Urban League like a business? (3-24-2009)
- Lacking leaders, anti-poverty group will try to sort it out (2-13-2009)
- Noting need group serves, state bolsters Urban League (10-29-2008)
- Is Urban League in state of denial? (10-1-2008)
- Urban League finances under fire again (9-23-2008)
- Urban League gets kudos, then reality check (7-10-2008)
Beyond the Sun
UNLV’s multimillion-dollar state contract to help low-income families find qualified child care is about to be transferred to a poverty-fighting agency that less than a year ago was suffering a leadership vacuum and financial problems.
Its interim head is Assemblyman Morse Arberry, the Las Vegas Democrat who is chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and who raised questions at a legislative hearing in March about whether a community organization could take over the contract that UNLV has held for four years. He was told yes.
Seven weeks later, Arberry took over as interim head and CEO of the nonprofit Las Vegas-Clark County Urban League. The contract was put up for bid in August, and in November the Urban League beat out UNLV for the job.
The Urban League and the Nevada Welfare and Supportive Services Division are negotiating contract details. The reasons the Urban League beat out UNLV will be announced after an agreement is reached, officials say.
Arberry did not return phone calls left with the Urban League for comment.
The contract, financed by federal child care and development grants, will enable the Urban League to hire staff to determine whether families are eligible for state-supported child care and refer qualified individuals to licensed child care providers. Staff also will train providers on issues related to child development, and process payments for services rendered.
Tom Pierce, chairman of UNLV’s special education department, was notified in November that the contract would not be renewed when it expires June 30, but not told why.
“I don’t know what to make of it,” Pierce said. “I was surprised and disheartened.”
State officials and an Urban League executive say the decision is unrelated to Arberry’s involvement.
At a March 3 hearing that included members of Arberry’s committee and the Senate Finance Committee, welfare division administrator Romaine Gilliland said there was a need to improve access to child care in Southern Nevada for families in need. His agency proposed transferring employees from UNLV to it to manage the program, although UNLV would continue to offer training for the providers.
Referring to the contract once held by the now-defunct Economic Opportunity Board, Arberry asked at the March meeting whether the welfare division would consider a contract with another agency if one was interested and met criteria to run the program. Gilliland said yes, citing his agency’s success in Northern Nevada with nonprofit contractor The Children’s Cabinet.
Arberry wasn’t affiliated with the Urban League until April 23 when he became its interim president and CEO. In August, the state solicited bids for what would be a broader contract than UNLV’s. The university applied, but state employees on an evaluation committee recommended the Urban League, the only other bidder.
“What we were looking to do was to find a community partner in Southern Nevada that could provide comparable services to what The Children’s Cabinet does in the north,” Gilliland said this week. “In choosing the Urban League we believe that it has made significant progress and that it’s capable of handling this grant.”
Urban League Chief Operating Officer E. Lavonne Lewis, said the financial issues that plagued her agency have been resolved. She characterized those problems as cash-flow issues in which the Urban League would pay vendors for providing community services but would often be tardy in seeking reimbursement from the state. At one point in 2008, the organization had only $33.
But she said the Urban League has since learned “to manage our finances more prudently.”
With 25,000 clients in Clark County who take advantage of the Urban League’s job placement, rent voucher and family service programs, Lewis said the agency is qualified to add the child care program.
“We felt that it was a contract that we could do well,” she said. “The state saw us as a community-based organization, and we already see the people in need of these services.”
For its program, UNLV employs 79 people and has 18 vacancies, which it plans to fill. But once the Urban League takes over, all employees will have to reapply for the job openings.
Mary Liveratti, deputy programs director for the Nevada Health and Human Services Department, has been serving as an ex-officio member of the Urban League board to make sure the agency straightens out its finances. But, she said, the Urban League has done just that, and she sees no need to attend future board meetings.
“If we didn’t believe they could make it, we wouldn’t be negotiating this contract with them,” Liveratti said.
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I am sure politics had nothing to do with the award.
Sounds like Morse Arberry used his political muscle to get the contract. Just like the Mayor, just like Rory and the County Commissioner, the Governor and other political powers here in Nevada. No matter the quality or the process, this suff happens every day in Nevada.
...But...But, why someone of color, or someone that does not fit into the thinking of small minds,...well, we read comments likes the ones being posted above.
"...25,000 clients..." "...rental vouchers..."
MORE SECTION 8
MORE SECTION 42
Millions of my tax dollars going towards free housing. Millions of dollars to a selected few.
This government will pass out MILLIONS in FREE housing VOUCHERS
but won't spend a nickel on SCHOOL VOUCHERS.
Why?
Because these inside track Politicos are CORRUPT and in it up to the eyeballs with real estate people, mortgage loan people, banking people, construction people and developer people.
And they STEER money to their 'investor pals'.
This whole thing is a corrupt government Section 8 and 42 SET UP, nothing more...
I wish the Urban League the best of success.
However, as with all non-profit organizations who have administered Federal anti-poverty programs over the last 20 years, it will be important for them to remember that Federal funds cannot be used to pay the non-profit's overhead, including high salaries to employees of the non-profits.
I say the foregoing in as gentle a way as possible, having seen, time and time again, non-profits fail to raise donations to cover their overhead and managerial salaries, and ultimately short the programs' beneficiaries (ex. the kids participating) and then have the Federal money taken away becausae of violations of Federal program regulations, i.e misspending.
Pink slip harry Reid in November and put an end to this kind of waste.
Ahhh... "rejco100". How much trolling can a person do on one story in a day? I guess we just have to count your posts and we will find out.
Why you would insult a child care provider trainer at UNLV, whom you know absolutely nothing about, out of context of the whole article is amazing. If you don't like the system then work to make changes from within it. Don't criticize a woman, in a picture, in a class teaching; when you have no idea what is going on in that classroom. You can't tell anything about a person's credentials or background from one photo.
Besides, people do forget the small things; you silly internet troll. Like remembering what is was like to be a child and how difficult it can be to communicate with chidren. And that last statement is all anyone can gather from that photo.
"The reasons the Urban League beat out UNLV will be announced after an agreement is reached, officials say."
Affirmative action, section 8 set aside, that's all. They'll be another ACORN sucking millions from us that will produce yet another generation of drug dealing baby making low life criminals.
Just another example of how democrats waste our money. We can't afford you anymore, it's time for you all to go, we're sick of working and our taxes being thrown away on your programs. Face it, your followers are worth the time and money spent and no matter how much is spent, they'll always choose the easy road and the cost per unit who might succeeded doesn't make sound economical sense. It's a bad investment and has to go!
My wife and me have been in this daycare business for over 18 years and we had lots of problems with payments when we started. When this Diva Hadi director came around those problems slowly stopped and we got paid in 20 days or even less some months and this was like that for years! Then the staff moved to welfare last year and we got new papers from some new welfare computer program. That was a mistake and we got paid late again for months and this is going to happen again? That didn't work. Nothing welfare touches works! When welfare and nonprofit agencies get into business, it is trouble for us and we can not afford there problems on us. A lot os us worked under the old EOB and it sounds like this Urban place is the same people. Where did they come from? We checked what the papers have to say and the internet had to say about them and it is EOB all over again. This Arberry man has a lot of money problems and now he will have millions of our dollars to mess up. Thats is wrong. Give the people that worked in childcare credit for the good they did. I would also be mad if somebody tried to break what is good because they have their jobs because they help people like us that are working poor. Why else would they work for there? Now we are going to be put into the hands of people like welfare and urban league? And where is my wife and me going to go for classes? We can not afford to go to these other places where we have to pay for classes and have bad instructors that don't care about us. The childcare people know what they are doing and you all need to leave them alone to do there jobs like they have been doing! Don't we count and don't what we need matter when changes happen? Nobody asked me and my wife what we wanted but we can tell you this. We dont want to move to Urban or is that the new EOB?
Can the Sun find out who the: "state employees on an evaluation committee recommended the Urban League" were? I think this decision needs full daylight. Also, why the secrecy on how the Urban League got the contract? Stating "The reasons the Urban League beat out UNLV will be announced after an agreement is reached, officials say." Why not let the public know what is going on now instead of after the fact when things hit the fan? We need more open government, not less!
My husband and I write grants for our church and there is a process and rules to follow. A selection panel makes the award based on guidelines and what we submitted. All church financial records, operations and board members are checked. How is it possible that a university with a whole grant writing department can be bested by a new nonprofit agency that has been in the papers with so many financial violations? This is not logical. Who made that award and based on what that a university cannot offer or do better? Why has the information not being made public? Who is hiding what? This is public service dollars and the public has a right to know how their monies are going to be awarded and why!! I agree with "more open government"!
As usual the public is not informed of what is going on when it comes to governmental decisions that will affect several hundred or thousands of families. Mary Liveratti did what? How did she: "make sure the agency straightens out its finances"? And "she sees no need to attend future board meetings"? Ok then, I guess give them our money and let them do what with it? Gilliland: "choosing the Urban League we believe that it has made significant progress and that it's capable of handling this grant." Can you share how you all chose Urban League and based on what? Come on! None of this is straight talk. How did this agency become more capable than UNLV?
I have been in Las Vegas for just over two years and this is not why I moved here. I came here for a better life. Reading all this now makes sense to me. No wonder I have been having such a hard time getting any help or support from anybody. Nobody has any answers or will be honest. The Governor is totally making all these cuts and people are not getting the help from the money he saves from cuts. Why? Duh... look who is in charge of giving the money away he saves. Giving our tax dollars to some agency that looks like no one has a clue on what to do with money. I can also read and Mr. Arberry owes how much money? No wonder the state is such a mess. The leaders are a mess, they dont tell us what is going on and they dont know how to find people to help us! Who is this Ms. Liveratti and who is Mr. Gilliland? Or should that be Mr. Lalaland? Who is in charge? And who hired this Ms. Lavonne Lewis? We need answers!
As a day care provider already struggling to make ends meet, i am frustrated and disheartened by the decision to grant Urban League this massive contract. the agency already has a record of misusing funds, so why give them another chance to do so with such an important program that has already been through so much. for once, i hoped that providers like myself and the families that so desperately need the help would catch a break, but it does not appear to be so. It is unfortunate, but how many more providers will be put out of business and how many more parents will lose their jobs in the time it takes for this new agency (and the powers that be) to figure out that they can't handle this program? Or has that been the idea all along?
Let's not lose focus on the issue at hand. Where is the legality of the grant process? They say they want to leave programs in the "community" but then they don't give the "community" a say. This is so juvenile; don't ask permission... maybe they will ask for forgiveness. The fact that nobody will say how the decision to grant the program to Urban League over UNLV (who has managed to keep the program afloat after so many disruptions) was made, further proves the corruption theory.
I like ms sandy. she is a good teacher. all the teachers over there are good teachers. i like the man teacher also. he must have more classes. he is a very good teacher. ms. nila help us all very much and the man teacher also help ms. nila. make us better teachers. we do the CDA and where we now go to get a CDA? we have some friends go learn for school teachers and go to school for get a BA with 2 and 2 program. where will we go then to go get that when we ready? we dont know why the welfare people are now making changes again. we like teachers from unlv and we like the program. the program help my mother to get pay for watching my sisters baby and my mother she takes classes from the teachers and it is very good by the bus and the market. it is not broke so why break it now to put it inside this urban league. we do not make decisions because nobody ask us. we pay taxes and they give our money away to these people. we need help to make no changes to us. please. thank you.
It is no wonder that the economy is in such bad shape when the government continues to make poor decisions regarding the use of funds and who they appoint to administer these funds.
I am a foster mom and a CPA. I am very concerned with what I am reading, especially after a phone conversation I had with a case worker from child care. It seems that Urban League is so unstable, that many of the staff are leaving the childcare program. Who is then going to provide services to the children who need care if there are no staff to process claims? Who apparently cares about these innocent children? Nobody. Who cares about the staff? They are public servants but they have no stability! It is a game of political chess and people's lives are stake here. The citizens of Nevada are not pawn pieces. These are real people, your clients and employees. Yes, as a taxpayer, these are my employees! As a CPA I am fully aware of regulations and the laws when it comes to grants. Or is the NRS just a set of books to collect dust on my shelves? What laws have been broken here in making a selection to an apparent incompetent agency? Who will be held responsible when this is over and who is going to investigate this decision? Or is this going to be another cover-up to cover a bad decision? Or dare I ask, what is the motivation behind his decision and who is gaining from such a blatantly corrupt and poor decision?
This is insane when looking at what the state is doing here. It seems a lot of under table dealings are happening here. I hope somebody qualified will hit the books and see what is happening. The "NRS just a set of books to collect dust on my shelves" quote is great from fostermom. I will gladly volunteer to blow the dust off a legal professional's set and to get to the bottom of this! This is an outrageous decision!
As a daycare owner with 20 years in the business I am very concerned about this decision. After an email I got on friday evening from another daycare provider I am even more upset with all of this. A whole group of us got this email and I recognized a whole bunch of friends I see at training and meetings. We cant let this decision be the cause to shut our businesses down. We have worked too hard for too many years to let welfare dictate what we need to do. All of us old-timers have lived this before with Welfare and incompetent nonprofits agencies like this. We have a right to know how this decision was made and why it was made on our behalf without asking us for any of our own views and opinions.
As a parent who has utilized the child care program in the past and is currently taking classes to further my education as a child care instructor, I really thought that the program was in good hands with UNLV. Having an accredited university behind your training and education really does mean something. I am afraid to think how much the quality of the classes and the knowledge of the instructors will decline if an agency that does not have the experience or the know-how to hire qualified people to run the program takes over. What benefit do any of us stand to gain if/when this troubled agency takes over? Is there anything we can do to prevent it?
I am a child care casemanager and I was at that meeting Dr. Hadi spoke at. Contrary to what was posted earlier, she had nothing but positive support for the staff and the transition. She has always been a LEADER and a very honest leader for us. In the 10 years I have worked here I have never heard her speak anything but the truth. At this staff meeting she told us to follow our hearts and do what we believe is right for us and our families. She was complimentary of Dr. Pierce and his leadership, she was supportive of Arberry and stated that she has some concerns with his support staff who were all new to their positions. They dont have the experience to handle a program of this size. That was all she said. The staff who were in attendance were the ones who raised the concerns of how this grant process was handled, what is going to happen to retirement and benefits. Who is going to pay my doctors bills for my diabetes? She chose to not respond when staff indicated that the correct process for grant selection was not followed. She remained firm in her support of Mr. Arberry's abilities and the leadership of the university. She never stated Urban League was incompetent! The previous negative comments about dr. Hadi sounds like a disgruntled employee who was not able to get hired within Welfare! But the issue at hand is what is the state going to do about this grant and what is the state going to do about correcting their under minded decision to move this to Urban League. We all have checked into Urban League's leadership and I would recommend dr. Hadi take over Urban League and show then what a leader is about! She has stuck it out with us through many transitions from EOB, to the County, to the state, to UNLV and God knows where. he fought for the community and for the staff and this is how she is repaid? Shame on you! Why don't you take your sorry self, leave, try to find another job and with luck you will find a job at Wendy's. I am not sure you have the qualifications to work there! Why people like you were ever employed with CCDP is a mystery to all of us! You are nothing but some ingrate and a looser!
The issue here is what is the state going to do with Gary Stagliano and (we know him and every provider in town knows who this clown is) with his buddies Romaine Gilliland, Mike Willden and the puppet Joe Garcia. We see running around in the hallways flirting with everything that wears a skirt and can the man take no for an answer? No. How many time do I have to tell him he is not something I want to sleep with?) going to do about this? Or did you guys set this up to fail from the start? What happened to Nancy Ford? She disappeared, I am sure, when she got to know just how corrupt they all are and Romaine replaced her. I am sure she didn't want to be sued for their choices. Is he that stupid to not see what she saw? Is he going to be the one who takes the blame for another mess? Is the whole legislative people asleep? These people are not following the legislatures directives. Find an agency that is COMPETENT! How is Urban League competent? Arberry is in debt. Read the paper!
This is so pathetic! Focus on what is the issue here! How did we land up with Urban League and not stay with UNLV? Why do we have to start from scratch again as far as retirement and no benefits? I am old and need to retire some day like eery other state employee! We are state employees and should be treated like the rest of the state employees. We also have rights! The same rights as Gary Stagliano, Mike Willden and Romaine Gilliland! We should not have to be flopped around like we don't matter! We also have families and we also have lives to live.
These people are corrupt and they are making decisions that would benefit who?
Get it right and do the right thing!!!!
Hola Rosarita! Mami, I love ms nila. that guy teacher that is mr. daniel. he is the bould man from africa. I was in his shaken baby class. he is very good. we all like him. we also like the nurse ms. Porter and ms. sandy but ms. nila is the best! she is so good! I dont know where we going to go if they put us to this other people. We spanish people have no place to go for classes. the state people he dont care where we go. we all be americans and they treat us like we not american. this is like Mexico where there is so much corruption and i pay this and i pay that man and we by things for this man to help us. they no care for us and the children and our family and our jobs.
Why does almost every comment on here have a red "Suggest removal." Who does that?
This was a set up from the very beginning. If the Las Vegas Sun wants a real story, they should use the Freedom of Information Act to obtain copies of both RFP's submitted (UNLV's and Urban League's) and see for themselves which actually submitted the better Proposal.
If there is a setup then as public and tax payers have a right to know what the future holds for us! Let the Sun then find the documents and inform us. Will those be available or not or kept secret because some technicality is protecting them from making it public? Isn't there a board or committee of lawmakers responsible for checking all of the state's contracts? I wonder if these "decision makers" are going to get their pink slips the governor mentioned tonight? Or is the governor finally getting his-self together and keeping that soon to be shut down prison for these skunks?
There is a finance committee. The members are senators and assemblymen and assemblywomen. Legislatures.