Posted on 05/31/2009 6:08:10 PM PDT by Born Conservative
The U.S. Department of State has launched a review of the alleged neglect and financial exploitation of 12 foreign exchange students in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties.
As the agency responsible for the oversight of foreign-exchange student programs, the department is working with officials from the Lackawanna County office of Children and Youth Services. Pending the outcome of the investigation, the State Department will adopt new procedures if necessary, officials said Friday.
On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urging her to investigate the department's oversight of U.S. youth exchange programs.
"We share Senator Casey's concerns and appreciate his attention to this matter," department spokesman Darby Holladay said in an e-mail.
According to State Department regulations, sponsors must adequately screen and select all potential host families, including conducting in-person interviews with all family members residing in the home and ensuring that the host family is capable of providing a comfortable and nurturing home environment.
The nine students from Lackawanna County and three from Luzerne County have reported living in filthy homes which were later condemned, being shuffled from home to home, including living in a home with ex-convicts, and not being given adequate food and drink.
On Thursday, the students appeared before a Lackawanna County grand jury, which will decide whether to recommend charges be filed.
All of the students were placed with host families by Edna Burgette, the former area coordinator for the San Francisco-based Aspect Foundation, the organization the students paid to get them to America.
Repeated attempts to contact a representative from Aspect or Mrs. Burgette have been unsuccessful.
"While cases like this are by far the exception, we continue to look for ways to ensure they do not happen," Mr. Holladay, the State Department spokesman said.
Hillary's father/family are from Scranton. Hence, the State Dept investigation.
How about looking into that Black kid from Indonesia that got into Occidental a few years back?
No, this is Lackawanna County, which adjoins Luzerne County. Lackawanna County is just as bad, though...
No, this is BOTH Lackawanna and Luzerne counties, per the first line of the article, and repeated again later in the article. The case is being handled by the Lackawanna court and social services, presumably because the majority of the students were found in Lackawanna and/or because the perp was operating her scam out of a Lackawanna county residence.
My bad. The initial reports last week had it in just Lackawanna county.
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