The next morning when I walked in staff said the phone had been ringing off the hook and they were glad that I was here to start taking phone calls. We had a lot of phone calls," says Shelley Buckmeier, Director of the Bethesda Day Care.
Many daycares do not take children up to the age of three because the state requires additional staff for this age range and there are increased liability issues.
Bethesda takes this age range if you can get in.
"I actually had some parents in tears after they talked for a little bit because they said they didn't know what they were going to do."
The shortage has spurred economic developers into action. The lack of daycare can prohibit businesses from coming to the community.
"Some of our other larger daycare providers in the community are stepping up. For example, NSU has announced additional slots," says Julie Johnson, Executive Director of Absolutely Aberdeen.
Availability must go up and many parents are hoping that's sooner rather than later.