State Dept. to boost exchange program oversight

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The State Department said Thursday it is setting up a free telephone number that foreign exchange students can use to report problems such as those recounted in a recent CNN report.

It also is scheduling visits to government-funded exchange programs, the department said in a news release, and is asking for a government management audit of such programs to ensure proper oversight.

The action follows a CNN report that detailed complaints of mistreatment from international students staying in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The report told of five students from Europe, Africa and South America who said they suffered neglect, malnourishment and abandonment at the hands of those who hosted them as they took part in a study-abroad program.

The families who housed the students say the allegations are untrue, and the Aspect Foundation, which placed the students, disputes some of the details.