OP a couple of points

- it is possible for there to be issues with services and yet on the ground they are still delivering effectively to most people. I hear nothing but negative about my county's local public school system and there are very real issues at the district level, but my kid's elementary school in a mixed income area is fantastic, and better than her private preschool that was very well run. Don't make decisions about your family based on a lack of perfection city-wide.

- it is early days for you but IME early intervention and public special ed can be great for some situations and less so for others. We have used early intervention and found it useful, and at another point turned down services because our child's issues required very specialized supports that were only available privately. We have done Child Find screenings twice and both times were told our child was totally fine, but around the same time we pursued a private evaluation and got an autism diagnosis (which, many months later, we have no doubt about). All of this to say is that early intervention and special ed are fantastic resources, but are not necessarily going to identify or properly serve every issue.

When I worked on it - city services were frequently not as great as it could or should be. In Wards 7 & 8, trash collection was frequently skipped, the roads resembled (and still resemble) the moon, the streetlights were frequently out. It happened in other parts of the city too then but particularly Wards 7 & 8. The schools were grades behind national standards. A lot of this had to do with the aftermath of the control board and the schools’ fraught transition to mayoral control at the time, but it was a disappointing experience.

So OP you thought DC’s trash collection, parks, roads, tax collection, etc are all just subpar? Not going to belabor this anymore.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. First, I’m the dad.

Second, I worked for seven years out of college in DC government before going to grad school and then the private sector several years ago. While my comment was flippant and it’s been a long time since I worked in DC government, DC government in terms of expert services was at best challenged behind the scenes when I worked there - and I worked with a majority of the 100+ agencies in the DC government. The education cluster in particular was not a shining beacon then. It’s not so much snobbery but skepticism from hard won experience. One thing I did learn is that while DC government was challenged, state and local governments elsewhere are frequently non-functional. So at least DC is better than most.

Third, as someone said, SNs are new to me and my wife. We don’t know what are red flags and what should be noted but ignored. I don’t shrink from going through the weeds, but what I should be looking for is unknown, particularly when our other child, a 4 year old, doesn’t appear to have SNs.

Oof, wow, would love to discuss more on a different forum. I am glad things are going well with Strong Start

- DMV local government worker who recognizes that there is some dysfunction but also knows local government effectively provides services that hundreds of thousands rely on daily

OP here. First, I’m the dad.

Second, I worked for seven years out of college in DC government before going to grad school and then the private sector several years ago. While my comment was flippant and it’s been a long time since I worked in DC government, DC government in terms of expert services was at best challenged behind the scenes when I worked there - and I worked with a majority of the 100+ agencies in the DC government. The education cluster in particular was not a shining beacon then. It’s not so much snobbery but skepticism from hard won experience. One thing I did learn is that while DC government was challenged, state and local governments elsewhere are frequently non-functional. So at least DC is better than most.

Third, as someone said, SNs are new to me and my wife. We don’t know what are red flags and what should be noted but ignored. I don’t shrink from going through the weeds, but what I should be looking for is unknown, particularly when our other child, a 4 year old, doesn’t appear to have SNs.