Backfire at LULAC

Parents have rallied to the side of teacher Mar√ɬ≠a Maldonado (pictured) after her firing from a job at LULAC Head Start, a longstanding preschool program in Fair Haven. La Voz Hispana, a Spanish-language weekly, published two stories on the controversy. The first gives Maldonado’s side of her case and of conditions at LULAC. The second article offers the perspective of LULAC​’s director on the history and current situation there.

Both stories follow, translated into English:

Mar√ɬ≠a Maldonado’s Story

Beginning in 1990, Ms. Mar√ɬ≠a Maldonado found herself working in a factory in New Haven, where she met her boss of yesterday and today, Ms. Lynn Hopson.
​“The first time that I began to work under the guidance of Lynn Hopson was in 1990. Two years later, in 1992, she would be the one who kicked me out of my position alleging that I missed work a lot. It wasn’t like that since at that time I had asked for a day off for maternity leave because my daughter was born, the one who is 3. And after I had to take off two days to care for my husband, who had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage.” After this misfortune, Ms. Maldonado succeeded in obtaining a position in the center of families and children, LULAC Head Start, at 375 James St., where over the years it has come under the direction of her former-ex-boss, Ms. Hopson. There are times in life when destiny is revealed.
​“I began to work at LULAC Head Start, of New Haven, as a temporary employee through an agency. They offered me as position as secretary, which I had applied for, and they gave me the position, which I filled for a time of three years, until I changed to a family worker.”
As a social worker, Mar√ɬ≠a had to recruit children for the classroom that they were assigned to; every classroom had to have a maximum of 18 students. However, through this duty Maria realized that the number of children in each room was over the set limit, which worried her quite a bit.
​“It’s assumed under the policy that guides these regulations of LULAC Head Start, I would manage on average 36 families; but that wasn’t the case, since I had under my care 54 families.”

More Work, Fewer Workers
Last year working conditions at LULAC Head Start on James Street were becoming complicated partly due to the reduction in personnel who took care of the place.
​“This past 2005 was the most difficult year because of the three workers that we had there in the first six months. In August one of them left and we were left with two; so we had to redivide eight rooms with 18 children in each room. This was a lot of work with only two workers, no more,” explained Mar√ɬ≠a.
​“With all this accumulation of tasks, we two continued fulfilling our duties as we could; but in December [the other worker] got sick, so therefore I remained the only one working there.
​“The other LULAC center, known as ​‘Hill Parent Child Center’ located at 250 Cedar St., where the organization was directed from, they didn’t send anyone to help me with all of these responsibilities, and it seems that from there other kinds of problems began.”
According to the complaints of Ms. María Maldonado, the person who should have interceded on her behalf would have been her immediate supervisor, who responds to the name Reina León.
​“For me, it was such a burden to work alone, and then, later on they tossed over there a young guy as a social worker who I had to train, on top of everything else,” Ms. Maldonado continued.

The Matter of the Files
Until this point, the economic conditions were not very good for the working of a center that like LULAC Head Start depends on federal funds. Even so, Mar√ɬ≠a reworked her time so she could do her job and the ​‘extra’ help in her community which is what satisfies her the most; but unfortunately secret maneuverings were finishing things by cutting her career path short and ending her hopes of continuing to serve the humble families, of which she counts herself as one.
​“In December the director of Head Start came to visit me, from the Department of Education of the city, whose name is Ruth Turner, who came to review my records. I told Ruth that the files were not up to date, for the simple reason that we don’t have enough staff and we were lacking social workers here. She documented it this way, and told me not to worry.”
​“Already during the first weeks of January, they came back to review my files, which seemed to me very suspicious since of the seven workers that we have among the two centers, I was the only one chosen for this inspection,” Maria explained. She received a warning notice that she did not have her files in order. But as she says: ​“Listen: I got the job of doing home visits of the parent and making updates for all of these families and the children at the center, and for that I had to sit down with the teachers in order to review each child and each family trying to figure out how they were progressing and the services that is given to each home. Also I had to do breakfast, lunch, and on many occasions, ​‘cover’ the classrooms and the front desk, like a secretary.

Her Second Firing
Calmed down by the words of Ms. Ruth Turner, the director of Head Start, from the Department of Education of the City of New Haven, Mar√ɬ≠a Maldonado, went forth with her work in the center, until the day arrived in which she asked for a permit.
​“On the 27th of January, I submitted, on the direction of the center, a letter informing them that I had to have an operation, and it would be for six weeks. I was really surprised to discover two days later that they had fired me from my job — ¬¶.”
According to the statements of María, many of her ex-coworkers have criticized the way that her boss, Lynn Hopson, fired her. It appears that their very own files were not up to date at the time the incident occurred.
​“Other women told me: Mar√ɬ≠a if they let you go because your files are not up date, then they would have to let us go too. And if we haven’t done anything, then what happened to you is something personal with you — ¬¶.”
This case seems to have connections with other past cases in the haven of LULAC of New Haven, where they have fired not only other social workers but also substitute teachers and other educators.

Parents Speak
The work of Maria Maldonado in LULAC Head Start of James Street is very highly esteemed. At the interview with La Voz Hispana many parents were present who wanted to protest the manner in which Maria was fired and who were offering her their support for whatever kind of action that she would want to take. Among those people who expressed their support of Maria Maldonado were:
Isaida Gonz√ɬ°lez: ​“I am a mother of three children, two of whom are here. I consider Maria’s firing to be unfair because she did so much for the parents and for the teachers.”
Sandra Rivera: ​“I see Maria’s firing as unjust because she is a great social worker. For her it doesn’t matter who you are, she will help you. She is very responsible and gets along great with any kind of person, if they are Latinos, African-Americans or whites. Maria should stay there because she helps so many — ¬¶.”
Carmen Rold√ɬ°n: ​“I have a little girl at the center and I don’t see Ms. Maldonado’s firing in a good light, because she is a very friendly person and she helps out a lot there, Hispanics as well as Americans. All of the doubts and worries that I had, she was the one who helped me to resolve them.”
Victor Rold√ɬ°n: ​“I’ve known Mar√ɬ≠a for a long time and I know she’s a great person, very hard-working. I think the her firing has been unjustified because she is always there helping anyone who needs it.”
There are many complaints against Lynn Hopson, for instances of discrimination and abuse of power, not only by Mar√ɬ≠a Maldonado but also by other people of Puerto Rican descent who have passed through LULAC Head Start. In the upcoming editions the statements of the other substitute teacher will appear, that says she had been unjustly fired by the aforementioned center.

• * * * *
  Hopson’s Side

As a result of a story published in our last edition entitled ​“Accusations of Abuse of Power in LULAC- Head Start — New Haven”, we received a request from Ms. Lynn V. Hopson, executive director of the organization, to give her personal views on its operation, organization and development. She also wished to clarify some points in relation to our journalistic work. 

Ms. Hopson (pictured) began by explaining how she became involved in LULAC, which has existed for many years, and how it was projected to become a bastion of the community.

“Head Start began its services in 1965, when it was established as a community organization to serve socially and economically disadvantaged children. LULAC itself has been operating for at least 23 or 24 years.

“We began our services in the basement of the First Star of Jacob Church on Howard Avenue in New Haven. After a while the religious center could no longer oversee the operation of the organization beneath its foundations, since it did not meet the requirements for the care of children. So LULAC moved to a new site, on 375 James St.” While this was happening, the executive director of LULAC was in charge of the Department of Human Resources in a factory in Fair Haven.
​“At the time, the company where I worked was interested in beginning a childcare center, and the owner of the business asked me if I would like to be in charge of one, right there in the same location. I wanted to be able to employ as many welfare recipients as possible, to take them out of a system as bad as this one,” she continued.
​“The city thought it would be a good idea to have a childcare center in the same place where people worked, and so the local government contacted us and informed us that there was a Head Start program in need of more development and a location where it could operate.”
​“The city proposed to erect a building in Fair Haven for LULAC Head Start, and we added the component of the childcare center. The reason LULAC is located on James Street is because of my business where I was working,” added Hopson.
This is the truth, as she explained to us, about how LULAC grew as a community service organization many years ago.
​“LULAC was founded in 1965 by seven women who had met Mrs. Martha Chavez, as a league to help Latin American citizens. From what I understand it was a big organization in New Haven, but it lacked funding and other necessities and thus became a smaller group that promoted the creation of scholarships for the children of Latin families. When it was time to incorporate Head Start, we only took their initials, but they were our patrons from the beginning — that is to say, they were the umbrella under which we formed.”
Hopson’s commitment to LULAC Head Start began in 1990 when she began to forge more solidly the future of the organization. Over time she filled many roles, culminating a year and a half ago when she became the executive director.
​“My first involvement was the acquisition of the building on James Street. Afterwards, I helped with the development of the organization, and later on I began a great friendship with the man who was the executive director at the time, Mr. Abel Padr√ɬ≥, who, seeing my commitment to the group, invited me to become a member of the Board of Directors, where I served for 10 years.”
With the passing of time and with two buildings now serving the community — the location at 375 James St. and the Hill Parent Center at 250 Cedar S. — the tired director retired. The president of the Board of Directors turned to Hopson as a possible successor, since at the time the Board of Education of New Haven did not have a specific candidate for the job.
Upon entering her new position, the new director of the institution had to confront problems of fiscal laziness, as she explained to us. ​“When I took the reins, this agency had a debt approaching $200,000. We had to take measures to save every possible cent. Fortunately, this past year we equalized our expenditures and income, so we hit our target.”
To accomplish this, she had to resort to the assistance of the community.
​“We obtained a great number of donations, and people began to help us on the left as much as on the right, because everyone believed in our mission. We served children when no one else could do it.”
There is an acceptance process for children who seek entrance at Head Start of New Haven, according to the program’s present director.
​“They have to qualify, economically speaking. The children do not have to pay anything, and we don’t accept any money from their relatives, but there do exist guidelines relating to money given by their parents. We exist to serve the poor.
After the children complete their first program cycle, the education continues.
​“After the first stage we offer something called the ​‘School Readiness’ program in which parents who participate must be working, studying, enrolling in a job training program, or some combination of the three for which they can pay a sum ranging from $0 to $140 or $160, depending on their enrollment choices.
​“We also have what is called Early Head Start, which is a program that helps the parents of young families. Funding from the Department of Social Services allows us to offer a place for little children, for in New Haven there are very few places that care for babies or toddlers. In the two centers we have, for children between the ages of 0 and 3, we have only 36 spaces. The program runs for a half-day, proportional to the time parents require to work or attend school. Its intention is to work together with children and their families, since LULAC​’s mission is to help develop children and families for their whole lives. It is not only for today, but for tomorrow.”
Ms. Hopson offered us a tour of LULAC Head Start’s facilities at 250 Cedar St. so that we could experience for ourselves the good atmosphere that permeates the site. We spoke briefly with some of the teachers about how they are treated and the overall quality of the workplace. Many of the women had worked there for many years, and all responded categorically that they felt good in the space.

The Case of Maria Maldonado

The executive director of LULAC did not want to discuss the details surrounding the accusations of abuse of power that Ms. Maria Maldonado made in the last edition of La Voz Hispana. She did explain the factors that generally led to dismissal.
​“All of our principles are based on overhauls. People come here and we evaluate them. People are not going to give you money simply to go out and enjoy life. In our case, the federal and state governments give us money which we must then be able to manage, because they have to be sure that we’re using it correctly. They came to review us in January and will return before the end of the year. Not only that; since the Department of Education of New Haven also conducts periodic but regular reviews, they are aware and in charge of what we do here. Today, for example, we have two monitors from the city Board of Education auditing our financial records for the School Readiness and Head Start programs. Each one has its own file, and we keep the information updated and on hand for when they require it. That information must be complete since we are the people in charge of each one of these children from the moment they arrive at our centers, until the moment their parents take them home. That information must always be ready; the life and health of each child depends on it. We must know right away if they have a dangerous medical condition, as is the case with asthma; or if there are indications of domestic violence in the home, or other problems as well. If we do not have that information exactly when we need it, we firstly endanger the life of that child, secondly put the family at risk; and thirdly undermine our own principles, because we are not doing what is required in these cases. We take this responsibility very seriously, because the children come first!” She continued speaking, trying to tread carefully on the delicate subject.
​“We have supervisors in all areas who review those archives regularly, to be sure that everything is fine and updated. All reports must be filed daily so that the information is correct. It is that way for everything; that is part of the work that must be done here. “
As for Hopson’s own work, and her relationship to her employees, she said the following was certain: ​“We try to work with the individual, providing direction and sometimes, certainly, giving a warning or calling for improved work performance. Remember, my job encompasses all of human resources, a fact that motivates me to know exactly what should be done with these reports. That is my job, and I believe we treat our employees justly.”
​“Our job is to employ as many family members as possible. Our staff is composed of older parents and some relatives whose children are currently in the program. We help to develop them, but they must know how to do their work. That is all we demand: that we will employ them, but that they must do their work! And also I want you to know 75 to 80 percent of our employees are Latino,” finished Ms. Hopson.
In the end, she did not wish to address directly the factors that brought about the dismissal of Ms. Maria Maldonado as an employee of LULAC Head Start of Fair Haven, citing her own discretion.
​“With the intention of respecting the generosity of the company in relation to an ex-employee or member of the business, I cannot comment on the situation. I can only speak about the services we offer here.”