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HIGH POINT — A child care center in the northwestern part of the city closed Friday, citing financial issues.
Representatives with Little Disciples of Joy Childcare Center on Old Plank Road informed parents and the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services about the closure within the last week.
In a message to the department, a representative with Little Disciples said the business tried to maintain its operation.
“We have been fighting to keep these doors open and not cross this bridge but, unfortunately, financially we just can’t press on!” the message said.
Little Disciples couldn’t be reached on Friday by The High Point Enterprise. The center’s website appeared to have been taken down.
Little Disciples had a maximum capacity of 149 children, according to ChildcareCenterUS. The child care center served children up to 12 years old and participated in a subsidized child care program.
Statewide, a number of child care centers have been closing because of financial pressures.
The state’s child care subsidy program is supposed to help low-income working families afford care, but child care advocates say the rates the program pays have not kept up with costs. The current rates cover about half of the cost of care, according to the N.C. Division of Child Development and Early Education. They also vary widely from county to county.
The N.C. Task Force on Child Care & Early Education reported earlier this summer that, since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the state has suffered a net loss of almost 9% of child care programs.
The task force reports that 58% of North Carolina early childhood educators reported a child care program had closed in their community within the past year.
Advocates have pressed legislators to adjust the rates. Senate Bill 412 would allocate $123.5 million each year to increase rates and provide an additional 10% of funding to programs in rural counties and programs serving infants and toddlers.
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