Montgomery cuts Centro Familia

Montgomery County has decided to reassign its contracts with Centro Familia, a Wheaton nonprofit whose spending practices are under scrutiny by the county and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is transferring operations to another county nonprofit.

Uma Ahluwalia, head of the county’s Department of Health and Human Services, told County Council members in an e-mail Tuesday that Family Services Inc. will take over Centro Familia’s bilingual preschool, training for home day-care providers and financial operations. The county is negotiating with Centro Familia over $85,000 in disputed spending, Ahluwalia said.

Ahluwalia’s e-mail said that the takeover by the Gaithersburg-based nonprofit came at the request of Centro Familia’s board and its executive director, Pilar Torres. Neither board Chairman David H. Anderson nor Torres was immediately available for comment.

-- Miranda Spivack