Control of Federal Job Funds Shifted

Prompted in part by an ongoing investigation into alleged misspent funds at an El Monte social service agency, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday temporarily took away control of $50 million in job-training funds from a county executive and requested a report on which department should permanently oversee allocation of the employment-training money.

The supervisors have stopped Stephanie Klopfleisch, chief deputy director of the Department of Community and Senior Citizen Services, from handling administration of the federal funds. Instead, disbursement of the government money will be overseen by Jose Martinez, a county employee who is executive director of the nonprofit Private Industry Council.

Formerly, the two shared administrative duties, because, under federal rules, the council serves as an advisory partner to the county in disbursing the federal job-training funds.

The county’s chief administrative officer will advise the board in 30 days on whether another county department, such as Community Development, should handle the funds.

The decision by the board Tuesday was a compromise reached at the last minute to avoid more wrangling between the department and the Private Industry Council.

The council initially requested an audit of the county agency after it was alleged that the Mid-Valley Manpower Training Consortium in El Monte showed illegal expenditures and that $600,000 was missing. Mid-Valley’s director, Douglas Shaw, was fired and is under criminal investigation by federal Labor Department agents.

The Mid-Valley investigation came at a time when the Department of Community and Senior Citizen Services was also reporting a 160% increase in administrative costs without a corresponding increase in the number of people receiving job training.