Thanks to arrests over fraud and corruption in a number of Brooklyn day-care centers, Health officials have been forced to shutter almost two dozen centers for safety violations. Another 17 centers may be on the chopping block if they fail to address violations in the next 45 days, and the shut downs have left over 700 Brooklyn families scrambling to find new options. Last month's "Operation Pay Care" bust accused city workers accepting bribes from a ring of Russian child-care workers who frequently violated teacher-child ratio and permit rules. And added on top of increased wait lists for pre-K programs, Brooklyn parents may have to resort to other neighborhoods, other boroughs, or home schooling for pre-K. more ›

This year, over 112 public schools placed students on wait lists for their kindergarten programs, and last year the Daily News reported that getting into many Brooklyn pre-K programs were "tougher to get into than Harvard." Now, the News says getting into Brooklyn pre-K is even tougher than that. more ›

In stark contrast to many city parent outcries, parents of some pre-kindergarten tykes are upset that their kids won't receive the H1N1 vaccine. Because their programs are not located in public schools but in day care centers, churches, community centers, etc. because the schools are too crowded, over 33,000 children ages 6 months to 4 years — the highest risk age for infection — will not have the option to get the vaccine in school. (Pre-K kids in city schools will.) One parent told the Daily News, "It's unfair. My pediatrician doesn't have the vaccine yet, so I think we should be given the option." Though a News commenter may have put it better: "Look what happens when the government runs (RATIONS) healthcare!!! NO PUBLIC OPTION!!!" more ›

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