Halfway to Concord Publishes Analysis of Contra Costa Countys Investigation of Embattled Head Start Program

The investigation may be more about how the County government can negotiate a way to keep the Federal program dollars to pay for skyrocketing wage and benefit costs of its public employees rather than save or improve the preschool program for poor kids and their families.

Concord, CA (PRWEB) December 13, 2004 - Halfway to Concord (http://halfwaytoconcord.com/index.php?p=172), a leading political commentary blog serving Contra Costa County in Northern California, has published analysis of the Countys plan to launch an investigation of the federally funded Head Start (http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/hsb/) preschool program run by the County.

The probe follows charges (http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/10366381.htm) that instances of child neglect and abuse occurred at several of the Head Start preschool sites operated by the Countys Community Services Department (http://www.co.contra-costa.ca.us/depart/service/content/headstart.htm).

Meanwhile, Federal and State officials have declared Contra Costa Countys Head Start program deficient (http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/living/education/10358271.htm) and threaten to deny the County $16 million in funding and revoke the child care licenses of the Antioch and Richmond centers that serve over 250 children.

Halfway to Concord (http://halfwaytoconcord.com/index.php?p=172) offers informed, hard-hitting, principled analysis of the probe, concluding that the investigation may be more about how the County government may seek to negotiate a way to keep the Federal program dollars to pay for skyrocketing wage and benefit costs of public employees rather than save or improve the preschool program for poor kids and their families.

For the full article see http://halfwaytoconcord.com/index.php?p=172 (http://halfwaytoconcord.com/index.php?p=172)

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