Tammy Chapman had eight. Now she's down to six.
If she were a mama duck, that would just be the harsh realities of nature. Instead, it's the harsh realities of the recession.
Chapman of Greeley started Sunshine Day Care in February 2008 because she was looking for a new career after more than 20 years as a medical assistant. She had trouble finding day care for her granddaughter, Kaitlyn, 5, so she applied for a license. Now her basement looks like the set to a new version of “Romper Room.”
She once had eight kids in her business, but she got the news that a father lost his job, and so she's already assuming those kids are gone. She doesn't want to assume that. The cost is too high. Losing one would be $550 a month. The other would be $75 a week. Gone.
She's already lost one client for the same reason. That was $90 a week.
Chapman knows it isn't her. She refers calls out to other members of the Greeley Association of Child Care Providers, and the calls aren't as common as they once were.
“We're not getting a lot,” she said. “People are unemployed.”
She can't buy many additional things these days for her day care service, and she's had to find ways to save money on things such as food. She also can't take as many field trips.
“On one of those, we got to see some cows milked,” Kaitlyn said.