David M. Halbfinger writes in The New York Times about the findings of the first of 18 audits being conducted by the New York state comptroller, Thomas P. DiNapoli, of the preschool special education program. This is a $2 billion system that relies almost exclusively on private contractors, many of them for-profit companies, to deliver services to 3- and 4-year-olds. The first three audits, released on Monday, June 25, have already led to criminal charges against two New York City companies as well as Capital District Beginnings of Troy, N.Y., which serves 800 children in a 12-county area that includes Columbia and Greene counties. More than 60,000 toddlers with physical, learning, developmental and other disabilities are served by the pre-K special education program across the state each year, with costs split between the state and local governments. Capital District Beginnings will have to pay back $831,244 in disallowed expenses, having charged government $240,000 for salaries for its two co-owners, though they performed little work, auditors said. The full story can be found online at The New York Times.