Melodie Samson drafted a recent letter with a strong message to parents of children in her day care center.

“If they don't pay, we do not provide child care,” said Samson, director of Carolina Academy on Celanese Road in Rock Hill. “We feel bad that parents are struggling, but we feel the effects of late payments because we have payroll to meet.”

The poor economy and high jobless rate has taken its toll on child care centers since the beginning of the year, local operators say. As unemployment has climbed, cash-strapped families have cut back their children's hours or pulled them altogether to save money. Day care center directors are closing classrooms, reducing employee hours and changing enrollment policies to stay in the black as some parents fall behind on payments.

Leigh Bolick, child care services director at the S.C. Department of Social Services, said she hears unofficial reports that enrollment is down and many day cares are struggling to stay afloat.

“Anecdotally, it certainly appears that centers are having a hard time financially,” said Bolick, who believes it will be three to six months before the state agency has the data to report a trend.

‘Slow but steady issue'

Carolina Academy, which charges up to $160 per week to care for a child, has seen a 30 percent increase in late payments from parents this year compared to this time last year, Samson said.

“People are having it hard,” said Samson, who has been Carolina Academy's director since 2000. “They think, ‘You can't do without power and food, but you can let your day care slip.'”

Enrollment over the past nine months for children ages 6 weeks to 12 years has fallen to about 100 from Carolina Academy's normal enrollment of 165. Such a decline forced the center to lay off a few part-time teachers, Samson said.

Mandy Cooper is experiencing the first enrollment decline in her five years as director of Carolina Kids Child Development Center on Ebenezer Road in Rock Hill.

“We've felt the impact of job loss,” she said. “It's been a slow but steady issue.”

At 15.2 percent, York County's unemployment rate for July is several points higher than the state average of 11.8 percent, according to new figures released Friday.

Cooper said struggling families — especially newly unemployed parents — take their children out of the child care center to save money and rely on grandparents or friends to help them with child care.

To beef up fall enrollment, Carolina Kids is offering free registration through Monday. Normally, it charges a $75 fee for the parents of an infant and a $100 charge for a family enrolling a toddler or preschooler.

‘Times are tough'

Cooper is not the only director trying to find ways to boost enrollment and keep children in her center.

Carolina Academy has changed its strict “full-time only” policy to accept children on a part-time basis, even two days a week.

Grow, Learn & Play on Lesslie Highway has kept the same rate of $95 per week for years.

The small child care center has 33 children between the ages of 2 and 10.

“Times are tough, and we can't make it worse on these families,” said Tammy Alexander, the day care's owner and director.

There still are waiting lists at the York Technical College Child Development Center, which provides child care for students, faculty and staff at the college, as well as for the community at large.

But lately when director John Hayes calls to offer a child care opening to a family, he has been hearing an uncommon response — an apologetic decline — because of unemployment, relocations for new jobs and less expensive public programs.

Full text available at The Herald.