Posted: Tuesday, November 4, 2008 12:00 am
Special to the Daily News
There have been no sanctions against an Arizona foreign exchange student placement company, but three incidents currently are under review, including one involving students placed in the care of a convicted Norfolk felon.
Darlene Kirk of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State said STS Foundation reported two of those situations themselves. Both of those incidents involved host fathers.
The third situation came under review after a Daily News article was published regarding the arrest of Fayette Klug of Norfolk.
Klug is accused of stealing more than $10,000 from two foreign exchange students in her care. Klug was a representative of STS Foundation even though she is a convicted felon.
“When we receive word of an incident involving the health, safety or welfare of a student, we contact the sponsor to ask for a report on the situation,” Kirk said. “This includes incidents or allegations of actual or alleged sexual exploitation or abuse, and serious problems or controversies which could bring notoriety or disrepute to the Department of State.”
Since the three incidents are under review, Kirk declined further comment.
When an incident comes to the attention of the department, standard operating procedure dictates that the sponsor, such as STS, send in a full report including copies of host family applications, proof of criminal background checks and personal references, a detailed profile of the school, family and community in which the student was placed, among other information.
STS told Mike Bowersox of the Madison County Sheriff’s Office that it ran a standard criminal history check and the database turned up no convictions on Klug.
STS became a program sponsor in 1986 and currently has 393 active high school student participants.
STS has paid back some of the money that was stolen from the two students.
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