Nepotism Costs Head Start Grantee over $66,000

The HHS appeals board recently upheld the disallowance of $66,888 in salary paid to the sister of a Head Start center’s CEO. The L.I. Child and Family Center employed the sister of the CEO in violation of the center’s own personnel policy and provisions of the Head Start law and regulations prohibiting any taint of “partisan political bias or personal or family favoritism” in the conduct of Head Start programs. Even though the case did not deal specifically with a tribal program, tribal Head Start programs are subject to the same laws and regulations.