Navajo Nation officials are hopeful they can reopen the tribe's Head Start program in mid-July.

The program was shut down in early May The Administration of Children and Families said the tribe failed to conduct background checks on employees. A review had found some employees with serious criminal records.

The tribe has since conducted background checks on the 1,000 Head Start employees. The Bureau of Indian Affairs is also running its own checks in conjunction with the FBI.

Kaibah Begay, the director of Navajo Head Start, has been placed on administrative leave pending a tribal investigation. She blamed the closure on Navajo bureaucracy.

Get the Story:
Navajo Headstart program in limbo (The Farmington Daily Times 6/19)

Relevant Links:
Navajo Nation - http://www.navajo.org
Head Start - http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/hsb

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