Low-Income Day Cares to Be Closed

Citing a $1-million deficit, the Orange County Department of Education is shutting a program that provides child-care for nearly 1,000 low-income children, from infants through 12-year-olds.

Nearly 200 day-care teachers and aides will lose their jobs when the centers close Dec. 15, officials said, though they will continue to receive paychecks until Jan. 12.

“It’s a very sad day for our children, families and staff,” said Ellin Chariton, director of child development services for the Education Department. “This is a hard decision but a necessary decision.”

The 25-year-old program provided full-day care for infants and toddlers and after-school care for older children at 13 centers from Anaheim to Costa Mesa. Child development centers in other counties have suffered similar fates, Chariton said.

The program aims to provide low-income children with school-readiness skills and academic enrichment, while enabling their parents to hold jobs and gain economic self-sufficiency.

Over the years, the program has been funded by a variety of government sources, Chariton said, but those funds have not kept pace with operational costs and staff salaries, which can be as high as $24 per hour for a senior credentialed teacher. In addition, state funds increasingly have been pulled away from large child-care centers and toward a network of public and private programs that include everything from small family day-care centers to programs run by school districts.

Children and their parents will be referred to those other subsidized programs, officials said.

“We’re working very aggressively to see that these children are transferred to other programs,” Chariton said.

She said county officials are working with the California Department of Education to find other agencies that could operate the programs. Some staff members could be hired to work for those agencies, although many would probably be paid less and receive fewer benefits, Chariton said.

“We’re doing our very best to support our staff and our families,” Chariton said. “For 25 years, we’ve had a wonderful history of providing services, but we can no longer do that.”

Child-care workers and parents were shocked and upset at the news.

“We need that program,” said Violeta Villagomez, who has two daughters in the Huntington Beach center.

Villagomez, who works full time at a Carl’s Jr. restaurant, said her daughters, ages 4 and 5, have learned English in the program and are learning how to read and do basic arithmetic. “We don’t want to send the children to someone we don’t know,” she said. “That’s dangerous. Many people can’t work because they can’t find someone to take care of their children.”

Many staff members are also angry about the closure, said Patty Donovan, a 25-year veteran teacher and a member of the teachers union.

“We cannot believe this has happened,” she said. “Every time you look in the paper, politicians are talking about child care, and here we are shutting down our program. Why?”

Donovan added that many teachers feel the alternatives parents are being offered are not as good as the program they have provided.

“There could be a big difference between a family-run day-care center and our teachers who are qualified and have credentials and experience,” she said. “I am devastated at this news.”