Questions about results, conflict-of-interest surround early-childhood initiative

The Fresno Bee published a two-part series on accountability problems with Fresno County First 5, an early childhood initiative approved by voters in 1998. The first story found that, despite promises made to voters and millions of dollars spent on evaluations, First 5 hasn’t produced a complete evaluation of its results, raising questions about the effectiveness of the programs. The second story found that every member of the First 5 commission has worked for or represented an agency that received money from the commission.