Governor assured child-care centers being paid by EOB

Wednesday, April 14, 2004 | 9:23 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The hundreds of centers that provide child care in Clark County under a contract with the financially troubled Economic Opportunity Board are being paid, state Welfare Administrator Nancy Ford said Tuesday.

Ford gave assurances to Gov. Kenny Guinn that money is flowing through to those who provide the services.

"Our main goal is to assure that services are not interrupted during this difficult time for EOB," Ford said at a Tuesday meeting of the state Board of Examiners, which approved a six-month extension of a contract between the state and the Economic Opportunity Board.

The welfare division is going to provide up to $9.8 million in federal and state money to the EOB through December. Of the total, 76 percent is federal money and 24 percent is state money.

Guinn, chairman of the examiners board, told Ford: "I want to be sure the state is taking the necessary precautions" that the child care providers are getting paid.

"These programs are essential," Guinn said. Ford said the state sent the EOB a $2.1 million advance in July 2003 for child care but the agency put it in its general fund instead of setting it aside for paying centers that provide child care. The EOB then spent the money on other programs and Ford said it is now paying the state back at the rate of $300,000 a month.

"We're trying to keep close tabs on them," said Ford.

A team of consultants hired with Health and Human Services Department funds has been investigating whether the EOB has followed the rules in its spending. A final report is expected in two weeks. That team was one of two looking into the EOB's books and programs last week. The other was from the Head Start bureau, the agency's second-largest program, after the child care program.

"The program side (of EOB) is working fine," Ford said. "The problem is the internal financial management."

The six-month extension of the contract will give the welfare division time to find a new way to administer the contract. The EOB currently takes care of both deciding eligibility and the contracts with the providers.

Ford said she would like to see one agency handle the eligibility and another the financial end. A request for ideas and a separate request for proposals will be issued in the coming weeks. But any switchover couldn't be done by June 30, when the present contract expires, Ford said.