A second daycare since March is closing its doors, sending parents scrambling to find another option for childcare in the area.

Forever Friends sent a message to the parents of their children, they would be closing their doors effective the end of May.

Parents who are working through the summer were given 30 days to find a new placement for their child. For parents with multiple children options are limited.

Teresa Maxwell, owner of Forever Friends, has had the daycare for a year and a half.

Forever Friends is licensed for infants up to pre-K with no afterschool program available.

The closure of the daycare is not only putting a strain on childcare services in the area, but its eight employees will now be looking for new jobs.

“I came to this decision because it is getting harder to find people to work.” Maxwell said. “With this business, you have to have workers there to stay in ratio at all times.”

Maxwell feels it can be a sustainable business only if the right employees could be put in place; not only must they be reliable, but also must love children.

With the closure of Forever Friends, Kelly Johnson, owner of Kids in Motion I and II, has felt the pressure of parents looking for childcare.

In November of 2015, Johnson opened Kids in Motion I, located east of downtown Iuka at the corner of Eastport and Snowdown Road. Then she had the opportunity to open a second location at the daycare located on the campus of Tishomingo County High School.

Kids in Motion II had a low number of children until Lil Rascals Daycare in Burnsville closed in March of this year.

After taking on more children both locations have few spots available which makes it more difficult to take on siblings.

The State of Mississippi licenses daycare centers and oversees their operation within the purview of state regulations.

The daycares must be divided into age groups; depending on the age group, space, and number of children per group depends on the number of workers in each room.

Johnson has the same struggles Maxwell has faced keeping employees.

According to Johnson, the pay rate for daycare employees is on the lower end of the pay scale. She said daycares are not able to pay employees what they want and still keep their doors open.

The economy does not help the situation, with the rising cost of food along with other necessities to operate efficiently, daycares are feeling the strain.

The only option to offset the rise in expenses is to raise the rate per child; this puts more strain on families who are already struggling to make ends meet.

Johnson is approved for the state childcare program. This program helps offset the cost of daycare for families that qualify due to income.

This program is vital for families in rural areas who fall below the poverty level but also makes it more difficult for daycare centers.

In order to be in compliance with the program, all daycare employees are required to attend a training class every other year. Also, with any state program comes mountains of paperwork to be completed along with staying within all state regulations and guidelines.

Contrary to perception running a daycare center is not easy money. The state is constantly changing the requirements, putting more on the directors and owner.

The paperwork has increased requiring the teachers to spend more time filling out paperwork which pulls them away from the class and decreases the amount of time spent teaching. This in turn causes daycares to need to hire more staff which then puts more strain on the budget.

Johnson states she has been blessed at both locations to have great workers that go above and beyond, working anytime they are needed.

“The profit isn’t in the money it’s in the satisfaction of taking care of children and them having somewhere to go that’s trustworthy, safe, and they learn. A place where parents don’t have to stress the unthinkable to happen like other daycares recently have had, which is also why the rules are constantly changing,” Johnson said.

As Johnson stated, there will always be a demand for daycare centers; people are going to keep having babies and working.

The need is not meeting the demand.

Johnson did not close her doors even during the pandemic. Some parents of kids at the daycare had to continue to work, so the daycare had to keep its door open.

Kids in Motion 1 has been under construction for over a year increasing the space.

Once construction is complete, additional spots will open up, but there still won’t be as many spaces available as are needed.

Johnson’s future plans are to enclose a concrete pad already onsite to open an afterschool program. Currently the only option for afterschool daycare in the north part of the county is Boy’s and Girl’s Club.

Maxwell hopes to find a buyer for the business before the doors close.

For Maxwell, the daycare is not her main source of income, but her employees depend on the doors to remain open.

One employee, Jeanie “Mimi” Deaton has been with Forever Friends for a little over three years.

Her grandson went to the daycare, and she would take him every day until one day they offered her a part-time position.

“I slowly became everybody’s Mimi.” Deaton said. “He left and went on to big school, but I stayed. These ‘babies’ have my heart, when someone asked me why I do this I tell them I love it and I mean it!”

Deaton is heartbroken the daycare is closing. She is praying for a miracle to happen, someone to buy the daycare and all the children will stay.

Deaton is hoping a buyer will come forward before the doors are closed forever.

“All my little babies will get to stay and I will get to stay with them, but if not, this has been a journey I will never forget.” Deaton said.

“The hardest part of this decision is feeling like I am letting people down and I know that it effects our parents and the precious kids that we love so much.” Maxwell said.

Maxwell agrees with Johnson that there will always be a need for daycares.

In a community where there are few options for daycares especially infants, the need is greater than ever with the economy where it is, most households have both parents working to make ends meet. If parents are unable to find a daycare for their child, they may be forced to leave them home alone or quit their job, neither of which is ideal.