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“font-size: 9pt; color: black; font-family:”>The Post-Dispatch and other news sources have reported that the Human Development Corporation has more than $1 million in unpaid obligations, can not account for all of its public funding and as a result President and CEO Ruth A. Smith is stepping down this month. This is Smith’s response.
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I’ve been
employed by the Human Development Corporation for over 40 years (as
far back as when it was originally located at 1321 Clark St.),
started in 1967 as a junior accountant, left in 1971, returned at
the request of the then General Manager Harold Antoine and the
Agency’s Comptroller E.C. Prose to fill the position of Payroll
Branch Manager and Assistant Comptroller.
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In 1981 I
was promoted to Comptroller, at which time the agency was a $50
million dollar agency, where I was responsible for overseeing such
funds received from the Department of Labor, at that time Health,
Education, and Welfare (presently known Health and Human Services),
Community Services Administration and many smaller funding sources
with no major findings over the years.
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In 1994 I
was selected by the Board of Directors to the head of the agency at
which time I accepted the overall responsibility of daily
operations. I had a staff of over 500 with a budget of
approximately $30 million. It was not until 1997 that any
controversy occurred with reference to the Head Start Program,
which we later won in court. The HDC Board of Directors decided to
relinquish the program in 2000.
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In 2000 we
expanded on our programs under the umbrella of the Community
Services Block Grant. We’ve operated, with success for the last 11
years, programs in the areas of : Family
Intake/Assessment/Referral, Enhanced Life Skills Program, Healthy
Living and Nutrition, Women Infants and Children (WIC) Program,
Family Support Program, Targeted Coaching Program, Adult Basic
Education/Literacy Program, English as a Second Language, Workforce
Development Project, Community Action Voicemail, After School/Out
of School Transportation Project, Young Scholars Academy, Legacy
Builders, Judge Theodore McMillan Family Technology Center,
Immigrant Support Services, Operation Springboard for Youth
Program, Back to School Supplies, Housing Related Assistance,
Energy Assistance Programs, Emergency Food Pantry, Resource
Distribution Program, Senior Transportation Network, Community
Empowerment Collaboration, Roundtable for the At-Risk Middle Class,
Community Leadership – Train the Trainer, Strengthening Tomorrow’s
Generation, CASASTART Network, Missouri Renewable Energy Industry
Project and Gateway to Green Jobs.
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Under my
administration we have served approximately 1,500,000 people in the
city of St. Louis and Wellston. The events that have occurred
recently have been brought about by some bookkeeping errors,
untimely receipt of funds from funding sources and a disgruntled
employee. I’ve worked directly with many of these individuals on a
personal basis, and felt their personal needs and to this day I
will continue to serve in some capacity.
