A
Japanese girl's placement in the home of a convicted felon has raised
demands for criminal background checks. Placement agencies counter the
situation is being overblown.
By Caroline Aoyagi-Stom, Executive Editor
Published October 21, 2005
Should a convicted felon be allowed to host a foreign exchange student.
That's
the resounding question after the Committee for the Safety of Foreign
Exchange Students (CSFES), a California-based group, recently learned
that a 16-year-old Japanese girl has been living in the St. Augustine,
Florida home of a convicted felon since August. The committee is
demanding her immediate removal.
But
F.A.C.E. (Foundation for Academic Cultural Exchange), the organization
in Gainsville, Florida that placed the Japanese girl, say they have not
violated any guidelines and have since received permission from the
girl's parents in Japan to continue her stay. And they have the
approval of the U.S. State Department to back them up.
"What
precedence does this set? It's not a healthy placement ... it's
unconscionable," said Danielle Grijalva, director of CSFES, who
recently founded the committee after observing questionable practices
as a former area representative for a foreign exchange student
placement organization. "I would not have had any of my students placed
in the home of a convicted felon. I would not want to live in the home
of a convicted felon."
But
according to Stanley Colvin, U.S. State Department's director for the
office of exchange coordination and designation, F.A.C.E. and its
directors Richard and Beverly Moss, have not violated any guidelines
and the Japanese girl will continue to stay with her host family.
"The student is still there at the request of the student's family, whom are fully apprised of all the facts," he said.
The
issue of safety for foreign exchange students in the U.S. is at the
forefront since the U.S. State Department recently came out with new
proposed guidelines to enforce sex offense background checks for
potential hosts. But CSFES and host parents like Sally Smith say the
guidelines don't go far enough and are demanding full criminal
background checks for potential hosts.
"Kids
should not be used to rehabilitate adults who've made poor judgments,"
said Smith, an attorney from San Diego, Calif. who has hosted eight
foreign exchange students over the years. "Criminal background checks
are crucial for the protection of all children."
The
proposed guidelines are currently being reviewed after a 60-day
discussion period but even if approved, still would not have prevented
the 16-year-old Japanese girl, who's identity has not been released,
from being placed in the home of her host father. That's because the
guidelines call for a background check for sex offenses only and the
host father was convicted of burglary in 1994. He was eventually
sentenced to 144 months, three years of which he spent in a Georgia
prison. The man is currently on parole until July 2006.
The
host father, 36, who resides with his wife and children, has also been
charged and convicted with grand theft, possessing a short barrel gun,
retail theft, eluding a police officer and reckless driving.
Even
with his criminal record, this is not the first time the host father
has opened his home to foreign exchange students. F.A.C.E. has
acknowledged in various media reports that they have placed other
foreign exchange students in the St. Augustine man's home and that Moss
knew of the man's criminal record prior to the placements.
"The
case has been dropped," said Richard Moss, when contacted by the
Pacific Citizen. "My side of the story seems to be changed every time I
give it so I have no more comments," he said.
A
main reason why the 16-year-old Japanese girl continues to stay with
her host family is that both F.A.C.E. and the State Department say they
have spoken with the girl and her parents since the complaints and they
have no problems with the host father's prior criminal record.
"They
are a bit worried but not that much," said Toshikazu Shimada, a
spokesperson for the Consulate General of Japan's office in Miami, who
has spoken to the student and her parents about the host father's
criminal record. "The parents respect their daughter's decision," he
said, noting that the daughter seems very happy to continue her stay.
"There's
a lot of misinformation that's been thrown around [regarding the
Japanese girl and F.A.C.E.," said John Hishmeh, executive director for
CSIET (Council on Standards for International Educational Travel), a
national non-profit that oversees more than 80 foreign exchange student
program organizations. "Those that are directly involved all know and
no one is still complaining except for the outsiders."
But
for Grijalva, an at-home mom who has now officially filed a complaint
with CSIET against F.A.C.E., that's not good enough. She questions why
Moss did not inform the student and her parents of the host father's
criminal conviction prior to the girl's arrival in the United States.
She also wonders whether the girl is able to fully understand the
situation since she speaks limited English.
"Can
we please place her in another home? Exchange organizations have
fabulous tactics and the language barrier is a tactic," said Grijalva,
noting that many of the agencies require the students to hand over
passports, visas, and their return flight tickets. "They take advantage
of the students. They are intimidated to keep their mouths shut."
Smith
also questions why F.A.C.E. did not originally tell the 16-year-old
Japanese student and her parents she would be staying with a host
father with a criminal record. "Would they have approved of a convicted
felon before she was placed?" she wondered. "I also question what the
company said to the parents. These kids are worried they are going to
be sent home."
This
year alone, more than 4,700 Japanese high school exchange students will
visit the U.S. In total about 28,000 high school exchange students
visit the U.S. each year. According to the U.S. State Department, the
number of reported cases of abuse is very low, only five cases of
alleged abuse in the past 10 years.
But
proponents pushing for change believe the numbers are low because the
students are afraid to report the abuse and lack the support of the
various agencies, several of which are million dollar businesses. In
fact, since Grijalva formed CSFES earlier this year, about ten cases of
abuse have been forwarded to her and she receives regular
correspondences from students thanking her for her efforts.
Smith
has also had her share of concerns. In 2003 then 16-year-old Thai
student Mary Vattanasiriporn had been attending the same high school as
Smith's daughter Jessica. It was when Jessica informed Smith of Mary's
horrible living conditions that Smith decided to take action and take
Mary into her own home.
"She
was living in a garage, sleeping on a sofa and it was freezing. The
windows were covered with newspapers. Mary comes from a culture where
you don't complain," said Smith. "This kid was really mistreated by
AISE (American Intercultural Student Exchange)."
Eventually,
Mary filed an official complaint with the U.S. State Department against
AISE, the agency responsible for her placement, but have never had any
action taken on her alleged complaints. Mary is currently back in her
homeland attending college in Bangkok, Thailand.
Hishmeh
and those in the foreign student exchange community believe the current
concern of alleged abuse cases has been blown out of proportion
although he believes foreign exchange students need to feel safe.
Some
are "misrepresenting them as widespread occurrences," said Hishmeh of
the alleged abuse cases. "But they are still significant and important."
"The
problems are isolated," said Megan Allen, EF Foundation for Foreign
Study's director of government and school relations. She would not
comment on the Florida case saying she was not aware of all the facts
but added, "We take student safety seriously."
CSIET
and organizations like EF Foundation believe they are taking active
steps in promoting safety for foreign exchange students by supporting
the State Department's proposed guidelines. The CSIET board recently
endorsed the proposals and plan to bring the issue before the 80
international youth exchange organizations they represent at their
national convention this week.
But
for Grijalva and Smith, they question why the State Department, CSIET,
and the various foreign student exchange organizations are not joining
them in their efforts to demand a full criminal background check for
potential hosts.
"The
State Department is crumbling under the pressure from the exchange
community," said Smith. "They don't want to make the extra effort or to
incur the minimum of expenses. It's too much trouble."
The
industry "should be fine tuned for the safety of the students. We need
to clean up our act to ensure the safety of our students," said
Grijalva.
"Everyone
wants to come to the U.S. It's a lifelong dream for many," she said. "I
want them to leave with a positive experience."
