Child-care providers stunned by fund cut Mayor Nutter took back $21 million from Safe and Sound, which doled out money for the programs.

Philadelphia Inquirer, The, February, 2008 by Marcia Gelbart Inquirer Staff Writer

Mayor Nutter's decision to cut Philadelphia Safe and Sound's funding by $21 million - money that the mayor says was never authorized - has forced dozens of operators of after-school programs to scramble to deal with the cutbacks. At the same time, City Council's majority leader said she would call today for hearings to look into how Safe and Sound, a taxpayer-funded nonprofit, conducts its business.

"They are sending out letters to organizations to cut their programs, but we want to look at their operational expenses and have a little chat about what they do and how they do it," said Council Majority Leader Marian Tasco. "We've always raised questions [to Safe and Sound] and didn't get answers, or got answers that didn't make sense." The increased scrutiny of Safe and Sound comes as the Nutter administration grapples with the impact of its recent reversal of former Mayor John Street's ...