Otago and Southland district health boards are not expecting to have to return any of the $488,000 allocated by the Government for B4 School checks.
In a letter to all boards early this month, Health Minister Tony Ryall described the delivery of the programme, which was expected to cost the Government $9.4 million a year for the next four years, as patchy; and its implementation rushed to the point of being almost "shambolic".
He said unspent funding by boards should be returned.
Regional general manager of planning and funding, David Chrisp, said he expected boards to meet their revised targets under the programme by the end of the year, when Mr Ryall would evaluate the nationwide scheme.
The checks, which are voluntary, are supposed to identify health, health behavioural, social and developmental issues in 4-year-olds which might affect their ability to learn at school.
In common with all boards, Otago and Southland were listed as not reaching their target numbers for the scheme by the start of May, although both boards had reduced their original target numbers.
Mr Chrisp said Mr Ryall's letter had included a table showing only 46 children in Southland had been tested, whereas the real figure was much closer to its target figure of 595.
Southland was "really on target", but the number of tests completed had not been loaded on to the Ministry of Health's programme properly at the time the list was compiled.
Otago's figure of 150 checks of 1648 eligible children was correct, however, and Mr Chrisp reiterated earlier comments that Otago had got off to a slow start with the programme.
Staff had been concerned about the long-term funding of the programme and that was why it was being delivered by board public health nurses rather than contracted out to a community organisation.
An outside organisation would have had to go out and employ nurses to deliver the 354 checks; the target in Otago.
Mr Chrisp hoped the December review announced by Mr Ryall would result in some guidance and certainty for the future of the programme. elspeth.mclean@odt.co.nz.
