“I‘m not rich. I believe my child deserves the best and want what any parent would want for his child,” said David Washington, a single parent rearing a young daughter. “At the end of the day, it’s the welfare of the children we should be concerned about.”

Washington was among dozens who testified last week before the D.C. Council’s Committee on Recreation and Libraries. Ward 5’s Harry Thomas Jr. called the unusual summer recess hearing after it became apparent Mayor Adrian M. Fenty was continuing to dismantle the Department of Parks and Recreation’s day care program in violation of local laws.