The Honolulu Advertiser tackled an important story today, examining why seats in publicly funded preschools were not being filled. The piece got right to the point: "The state has money to help needy parents defray the costs of preschool. Now it just needs more parents to apply." The story quotes a parent who says the program makes it possible for her to send her daughter to an accredited pre-school rather than leave here with a babysitter. "I would go to some homes that just had a blank white wall, no toys and 10 kids," the mother said. "You just don't feel comfortable leaving your child there."

The piece notes that cultural resistance is a factor in what preschool experts call the low "uptake" for services. "Hawai'i continues to be the type of society that we let our parents or grandparents or aunties and uncles take care of the young," said Henry Oliva, the deputy director of the state agency that administers the program.

This is not only an issue in Hawaii. It is an issue in many mainland cities, especially those with large Latino populations. What are the programs in the cities you cover doing to make sure families know what services are available and how to access them? Are they getting the word out in Spanish-language and other ethnic publications? Are they going door to door? Does the state subsidize outreach efforts? My guess is that there are many neighborhoods where good programs are not being full utilized.