Martinez to receive over $240K in severance from First 5 LA

UPDATE: November 25: Jason Song reports in the Los Angeles Times that Evelyn V. Martinez, founding director of First 5 LA, had a contract to receive a lump sum equal to 12 months' of salary ($240K/year), health benefits and unused paid vacation if she was "fired without cause." She resigned early in November "after a critical audit of the agency" (see story below); Craig Steele, who is serving as First 5 LA's interim CEO, said the commissioners gave her the option to resign rather than to fire her; however, he also told the LA Times that "First 5 commissiohnjers intend to pay her full severance package."

Previously reported on this story: "LA Times Scolds First 5 LA for hoarding $800 million"

Responding to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors' ousting of First 5 LA executive director Evelyn Martinez last week following a "shocking" report by the California State Auditor on surplus funds, high salaries, and lack of paperwork on $200 million in grants and contracts, the Los Angeles Times this morning published the following editorial:

At a time when government agencies are hard-pressed to find the money to serve all the genuine needs, First 5 LA has had its own peculiar problem: a nest egg of more than $800 million that it has hoarded instead of reaching out to more babies, toddlers and preschoolers. ... a recent audit found that First 5 LA had been building a huge surplus over the years — close to five times its annual budget — and had been serving a smaller percentage of the county's younger residents than its counterparts statewide. It also, according to the audit, signed too many contracts without competitive bidding and failed to provide its own governing commission with basic information about the budget and its contracts. There was no evidence of malfeasance, but the audit said the record-keeping was so bad, there is no way to tell for sure.

The local agency's failure to spend more of its money could cause it trouble given the attempts by the state to take $1 billion in statewide First 5 money to help pay for children's Medi-Cal services. It's all the harder for First 5 leaders throughout the state to argue, as they have been, that they would be forced to cut needed services when the Los Angeles County agency alone has been hanging on to a surplus of more than 80% of the amount the state seeks...the size of First 5 LA's bank balance went beyond good stewardship; young children who need help aren't getting it while the agency holds on to an extraordinary excess.

First Five LA's executive director, Evelyn V. Martinez, resigned last week, but the agency needs more than a competent replacement. Under Martinez, the governing commission, a group of 13 people from various agencies plus a representative of each Los Angeles County supervisor, failed to ask basic questions about contracts, expenditures or bank balances. Some commissioners should be replaced, and all of them should learn about budgets and contracting rules....

 

Comments

[Ruben]

scolding, really - how about hammering them for being the incompetent people they are - for not being able to prove that they have made any kind of difference except in the pocketbooks of the employees.

[Wendy Lestina]

When you read figures like today's estimate of the WIC cuts on the federal level -- around $600 million -- and you realize that figure is still short of the First 5 LA hoard, the lack of concern for human services on the part of the agency is appalling.

[Ruben]

Here, read this for starters:

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=102984666452249

Look, spend the money on the poorest kids for healthcare - at least you know it's not, IMO, essentially being embezzled. First 5 has shown NO evidence of positive impact; they refer to evaluation studies that are not even their own.

Wake up California! This agency needs replacing.

[orange county csa]

there was no information of malfeasance, but the examine said the record-keeping was so bad, there is no way to tell for sure.

[Ruben]

I know this might be hard for you to publish, but if you take the shine off an apple and find that it is 75% rotten due to worm infestation, what do you do? You toss the whole thing. In this case, a permanent re-direct to Medi-Cal of all funds appears appropriate.

Connect the Dots: First 5 is a $500 million tax per year DYSFUNCTIONAL waste of money.

LOS ANGELES TIMES
1. Audit prompts L.A. County to seek takeover of First 5 LA, October 25, 2011
2. Leader of First 5 LA education agency resigns after heavy criticism , November 11, 2011
3. First 5 LA's embarrassment of riches, First 5 LA has an $800-million surplus, November 16, 2011
4. First 5 LA ex-chief to get sizable severance despite having quit, November 25, 2011 ($240k+ when not allowed by her contract)
http://discussions.latimes.com/20/lanews/la-me-first-five-20111125/10 - the link to the discussions

ACTOR ROB REINER FORCED TO RESIGN (well, him and at least 12 others)

1. Rob Reiner Busted In $23M Conflict Of Interest Scheme - Using Children's Funds To Further His Personal Agenda
http://cctimeswatch.blogspot.com/2006/03/rob-reiner-busted-in-23m-conflict-of_29.html \
2. Meathead Money - Rob Reiner's Additional Million
http://maxine-log.blogspot.com/2006/05/meathead-money-rob-reiners-additional.html
3. Rob Reiner’s Fraud Based “First 5″; Tens of Millions of $$ Not Accounted For in LA
http://capoliticalnews.com/2011/10/29/rob-reiners-fraud-based-first-5-tens-of-millions-of-not-accounted-for-in-la/

RIVERSIDE (Riverside Press-Enterprise)
1. Fair bidding?, December 15, 2008
2. Changes urged for 'dysfunctional' First 5 Riverside commission , December 17, 2008
3. First 5 Commission looks at perception of conflict of interest, February 25, 2009
4. Riverside County supervisors want to make First 5 Riverside a county agency, March 17, 2009 (and then they did)

SAN DIEGO (San Diego Union Tribune)
1. Member of First 5 Commission steps down, June 3, 2009
2. Deeper conflicts emerge in First 5 funding, June 4, 2009
3. Glaring conflicts: First 5 grant program needs thorough overhaul, June 5, 2009
4. First 5 tightens funding policies: New bylaws target conflicts of interest, June 30, 2009
5. New rules prompt 9 to quit First 5 advisory panel, August 18, 2009
6. First 5 spending plan has old ties, Sept 13, 2009
7. Fix First 5 – now Use funds on health care, not belly dancing?, Nov 21, 2008

FRESNO (Bee)
1. Fresno Co. finds it hard to measure First 5's results, Dec. 26, 2009
2. Fresno Co. First 5 faces conflict-of-interest worries, Dec. 27, 2009

SAN FRANCISCO (Chronicle)
1. Not all First 5 grants are helping poor kids, Apr 19, 2008

SACRAMENTO (Sacramento Bee)
1. Kids panels hold $2 billion Sacramento Bee, January 17, 2008
2. Program critics claim abuse, want to seize funds, January 13, 2009

TULARE (Visalia Times-Delta)
1. First 5 spends $18k on invitations for a $486 party, just weeks before election, Apr 21, 2009

CALIFORNIA WATCH - Nonprofit, Nonpartisan - Founded by the Center for Investigative Reporting
1. Children's program balks at $1B in cuts, January 13, 2011
2. Legislature looks to take $1B from First 5, bypass voters, March 10, 2011
3. First 5 commissions sue over state budget, April 12, 2011
4. More First 5 groups challenge state budget , April 14, 2011
5. Brown sends mixed message on First 5 funds, May 19, 2011
6. Pay for ‘First 5’ directors varies widely by county, September 18, 2011
7. Director of First 5 LA resigns following audit, November 11, 2011

OTHER LINKS OF INTEREST:
• AUDIO] First 5 Consultant receives $200 per hour for listening to radio KFI (May 7, 2010) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3-nP9Hxvjw&fe...!
• Time to End the Children and Families Commission’s Autonomy May 6, 2010 (http://www.fullertonsfuture.org/2010/time-to-end-the-children-and-families-commissions-autonomy/#comment-13984
• [VIDEO] $4 million is spent on a national cartoon show KCRA (11-18-08) - money not supposed to be spent outside of CA
• $200K+ per year First 5 lobbyist Sherry Novick defends First 5 http://www.californiahealthline.org/Features/2009/Prop-1D-Called-Hobsons-Choice-for-Voters.aspx
• Grand Jury report details problems at First 5 Contra Costa http://www.halfwaytoconcord.com/grand-jury-first-five-commission/
• More observation on First 5 LA http://www.laobserved.com/intell/2011/10/health_agency_-_latest_black_e.php
• $200 Million of Calif. Taxpayer's Money Spent With No Accountability http://www.chicagonow.com/publius-forum/2011/10/200-million-of-calif-taxpayers-money-spent-with-no-accountability/

[Robert]

New watchdog website on the First 5 Commissions: www.flopped5.org

We have uncovered that one county First 5 commission appears to have consciously reduced the number of people it informed about 21 times the current lead contamination limit in 6500 toy kits it distributed. They also admitted to not informing the state or the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission of their contaminated toys, which appears to have been a violation of federal and/or state law(s).

This First 5 still has not, since 2004, issued an official press release to notify their general community of this public health crisis and ongoing danger to Contra Costa County's children.

The newspaper there, the Times, still has not covered the story at all, even with publicity in the matter and so we wonder how much the paper receives each year in First 5 advertising dollars, because we feel there can be no other reason they would not cover such an important story.