Southern Indiana day care closes due to state funding cuts

NEW ALBANY, Ind. (WDRB) -- A southern Indiana day care says state funding cuts to child care forced the business to shut down.

Kids Care Academy in New Albany is closing its doors for good after Friday, Oct. 3. It's a decision leaders at the day care said was out of their control.

"We bring a lot of stability into the lives of little children, and they may not find that again," Brittany White, Kids Care Academy director, said.

White has worked at KCA since 2020, and said state funding cuts are the reason they're closing their doors for good.

"The budget cuts have really hurt us and in the long term, it's hurting the young children that are in the early education programs," she said.

On Sep. 4, the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration's Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning announced cuts to the state's Child Care and Development Fund.

The CCDF helps fund child care for low-income families in Indiana through vouchers.

"A lot of the children don't come from good families, and they won't get the education and the nourishment and the love and form attachment relationships with adults if they don't have these types of programs," said White.

The state said in a news release the cuts are being made to address a $225 million funding gap through 2026 created by the prior administration's "unsustainable use of temporary COVID relief funds."

"Ultimately, they're going to be the future of America and they're losing what is a good program for mothers and fathers and families that can't afford it," White said. "The children are going to be the ones hurt, and they need to look at priorities and prioritize better, is what I feel like."

White said they're liquidating the name of the day care and will be holding a sale on Oct. 15 to get rid of toys and other items in the building.

Kids Care Academy is also closing its Jeffersonville location.

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