SCRANTON, Pa. - The nation’s foreign exchange student programs need better federal oversight, the State Department’s internal watchdog concluded in a new report after a scandal in which students were placed in shoddy homes in Pennsylvania.
In a report released this week, Acting Inspector General Harold Geisel said the department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs has largely abdicated its responsibility to ensure the well-being of thousands of exchange students who come to the United States each year.
Instead, the sponsoring organizations have been left to monitor their own programs and report problems to federal regulators, the report said. “There are insufficient dedicated resources at ECA to conduct effective oversight of youth exchange programs,’’ the report said.
The review began in July after allegations that an employee of a San Francisco-based exchange program placed students in filthy homes around Scranton in northeastern Pennsylvania. Edna Burgette was fired from Aspect Foundation after being charged in July with five felony counts of criminal negligence.
Aspect said it deplored Burgette’s actions and had no prior knowledge of the neglect, but the agency was penalized by the State Department.
“We’re absolutely committed to strengthening our programs, making them the best they can be, and ensuring that all students have safe and rewarding experiences,’’ Maura Pally, acting assistant secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs, said yesterday.
Following the Scranton case, the bureau added staff, established a separate unit to conduct site visits, e-mailed students to inquire about how their experiences are going, and set up a database to track problems, among other fixes meant to improve oversight.
Proposed federal regulations would tighten requirements for host families and set up more rigorous background checks.
