An audit of New York City contractors hired by the state to provide child care to low-income families found many incidents of misspent funds, with 19 centers referred to local prosecutors for possible prosecution, reports The New York Times.

The state comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli said the audit found that “a lack of effective monitoring contributed to ineffective results and misuse of funds.”

The audit examined 205 contracts to New York City child-care centers, spanning 1999 to 2006, which totaled $10.7-million.

One part of the audit analyzed 55 contracts worth $2.9-million and found that misspending in 39 reached nearly $1.6-million.

In one incident, a contractor received $95,000 to create 30 child-care slots; instead, some of the money went into a personal checking account, and the slots never materialized.

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