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Parents heartbroken after St. Matthews daycare abruptly closes; 'We cried. I cried.'

Parents are spending this holiday weekend searching for childcare after a Louisville daycare abruptly closed.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — School drop-off was emotional for some families Friday after a Louisville daycare permanently shut its doors. 

On Monday, St. Matthews Area Ministries Childcare Development Center announced its plans to close Dec. 22. "We cried. I cried,"  Mera Corlett said. 

Corlett's one-year-old son attended the center since May. She said parents weren't notified about the closure until late Monday night on the daycare's app. It wasn't until the next day, she learned teachers were left in the dark too. 

"And they were also in shock. They were visibly upset. I wish we had better communication, kinder communication about what's happening here," she said. 

Credit: WHAS11 News
Mera Corlett's one-year-old son had attended the daycare since May. She was shocked to learn of its closing. | Dec. 22, 2023

The center's executive director,  Julie Abbott, told WHAS11 in a statement that the daycare's board of directors voted to close the St. Matthews center on Dec. 18.

"This decision was made based upon the on-going staff shortages & challenges to maintain & operate on a consistent, schedule for the families," she said. "Parents & staff were notified immediately, a list of other area childcare facilities was provided as a guide to the families upon dismissal yesterday.  We are trying to work with other facilities in this transition to help meet the needs of each family."

Corlett said the daycare closed several times due to teachers calling out sick, but there was no indication the center was nearing it's last days.

Now,  parents are forced to quickly find new childcare, which Corlett says is nearly impossible. 

Credit: WHAS11 News
St. Matthews Area Ministries Childcare Development Center's board of directors voted to close the daycare on Dec. 18. | Dec. 22, 2023

"The places I couldn't get into, I called them and they have a message that they're closed this week. They're not even open," she said. "So I have to wait until after the new year to even get him on the wait list. Now I'm deeply concerned about going anywhere else and having this be an outcome that we can be facing."

According to Steve Magre, with Childcare Advocates of Kentucky, the center's closure is apart of a larger issue in the commonwealth. During the pandemic, child care was sustained by nearly $50 billion in federal funding. 

Once that expired, Kentucky invested millions of dollars more, but many say it wasn't enough. 

"We're still getting covid and shutting things down. So when you run out of that funding that supports that and the issues are still underlying, we haven't fixed it," Corlett said. 

This is why Gov. Andy Beshear is asking the legislature to spend $141 million to keep child care programs afloat. But if his proposal isn't passed, parents like Corlett may be faced with more goodbyes. 

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