Boys and Girls Clubs willing to run child-care program

Tuesday, April 27, 2004 | 9:37 a.m.

The Boys and Girls Clubs of Las Vegas and the United Way have reached a tentative agreement to partner in a bid to run the state's child-care program in Southern Nevada, Boys and Girls Clubs Board Chairman Steven Hill said Monday.

In a recent letter from Hill to his fellow board members, he said the United Way would be responsible for the "fiscal aspects of the program" and the Boys and Girls Clubs would be responsible for "the administration of child care."

Hill said the organization will offer to administer the child-care program, but has no intention of taking children away from any of the child-care centers already operating under the program.

State officials have said they would look for other groups to possibly take over all or parts of the child-care program after problems arose with the Economic Opportunity Board, which now oversees the $20 million program in Southern Nevada.

The EOB has faced two federal inquiries in recent weeks, one of which focused on the child-care program, which is facing $2.1 million in unaccounted-for funds.

Angela Quinn, president of Boys and Girls Club of Las Vegas, said last month that the club would be interested in responding to the state's recently issued request for groups interested in running all or part of the child-care program. The state will issue a formal request for proposals to run the program in the coming weeks.