FORT VALLEY, Ga. — Daycares in Central Georgia affiliated with the Fort Valley State University Early Head Start Program are closed indefinitely.
Georgia State Representative Patty Bentley says she got calls from parents on Saturday who say their child’s daycare posted a notice on its front door Friday saying it will be closed indefinitely starting next week.
“Attention HD139 to all the families that are affected by the sudden closing of daycares that are affiliated with FVSU Early Head Start Program, I am truly sorry for the position this has placed you in,” Bentley said in a statement.
Bentley says she does not know why the locations closed, how many locations will close, how many counties this affects, or when the daycares will be open again.
However, Bentley said several of the Early Head Start daycare providers are in her district, which covers Taylor, Macon, and Dooly counties.
"I will follow up with an update and hopefully a solution to ensure parents can go to work and not worry about the care of their babies," Bentley said.
In 2015, the Head Start program received a $5.8 million grant from from the federal government to start the Early Learners Child Care Partnership Program.
Bentley says daycare providers started addressing complaints to her about when they would get grant money two years ago. She says university officials were aware of their concerns.
Bentley says she will not know why the daycares closed or have more information until she speaks with Head Start officials and the Georgia Department of Early Care on Monday.
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