All employees of the Child and Family Development Center at NHTI will be laid off starting May 7, leaving the future of the program uncertain, according to a letter to families sent out this week.
NHTI President Dr. Gretchen Mullin-Sawicki wrote in her letter that the community college can no longer afford to pay the center’s 10 full-time and 11 part-time employees while tuition from students is not coming in. The center has been closed since March 23, when most families pulled their children from the program because of the pandemic.
She said even before the COVID-19 outbreak, NHTI was having trouble financing the program. She said the college has been meaning to revisit its structure as it has struggled.
“We do feel it’s important to explore options for the structure of the CFDC, since its expenses exceed its revenue by about $280,000 each year. This was a concern before the pandemic, and finding solutions had been put on hold as we all needed to respond to that crisis,” Mullin-Sawicki wrote.
The letter left the future of the program in doubt.
“We cannot say what the timeline of pandemic-related impacts will be on this and other services in our community,” she continued. “I cannot tell you, nor can you tell me, when our CFDC families will be ready to return their children to a childcare setting nor what CFDC staff will choose to do after May 7.”
The letter sent a ripple of fear among staff and nearly 60 families who rely on the center for childcare.
“We had thought that because CFDC was a lab school and partially funded by NHTI, it would be better able to weather the storm of the pandemic than purely private child care centers,” said parent Rue Toland, mother of two daughters who have attended CFDC, one of which is six months old.
Carrie Dupell, an infant teacher who has worked at the center for more than 18 years, said the news was devastating to hear.
“After 18.5 years of dedicated service I and the rest of our committed staff are going to be without employment at the most vulnerable time ever,” Dupell wrote in an email.
Mullin-Sawicki said NHTI was able to find “alternative work assignments” for the center’s 21 employees through May 7, which will be six weeks since it closed. That work included professional development, assisting parents with their children through activities and advice and helping other departments at NHTI in admissions and marketing work.
Mullin-Sawicki said there is no longer any “appropriate” work to offer those employees without the day care being open on a daily basis. She said continuing to pay employees during this time has been “a financial challenge for NHTI.”
All layoffs were done through Zoom meetings on April 13 and 14, NHTI spokesperson Shannon Reid said. The school’s leadership will be having individual meetings with each staff member on April 20 to address any questions they may have, she said.
NHTI does not have a furlough provision in its contract with staff, although the school does have a recall process for work that is resumed within one year, Mullin-Sawicki said.
Reid said NHTI has “every intention” of reopening the CFDC when it is safe.
“We cannot say when as this is dependent upon how long present conditions exist in the state. In part, what happens next depends on when it happens. Re-opening in three weeks would likely look quite different than re-opening in three months,” Reid said. “We are working on plans for all those eventualities, as are many businesses and service providers across the state. At an uncertain time it is hard to provide the certainty that families are demanding.”
Mullin-Sawicki said NHTI will be “exploring options” for the future structure of the program. The cost of employees’ salaries and benefits are currently the center’s largest expense.
“This could include the prospect of working with an independent childcare provider to resume care at the CFDC should that best meet our collective needs going forward, so long as particular requirements and conditions are met,” Mullin-Sawicki said. “We must all cope with some uncertainly as we look forward, and I realize that this is a lot to ask, particularly where your children are concerned. We will keep our families informed of any developments.”
The news was difficult to swallow for working parents concerned about having a quality options for childcare in the area.
Amber Zachos, mother of a 4-year-old at the center, said the state has a shortage of accredited childcare programs. She said she researched many programs before electing to send her daughter to CFDC when she was a few months old. A big part of that is because of the dedicated and well-trained staff there, she said.
“The children and teachers there have become a part of our family,” Zachos said.
Allison McGregor, a student at the University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law set to graduate this year and begin a new job in July, has a two-month-old daughter enrolled in CFDC. She said when she was only three-months pregnant, she toured every certified infant care program in Concord and went on every waitlist.
“In August 2019 the earliest predicted opening was for July of 2020. We were lucky enough to have the CFDC spot open in January of this year and actually paid to hold the spot for our daughter for a month prior to her even being old enough to attend,” she wrote in an email. “I share this information because I believe it really shows the massive shortage there is for infant childcare in the city.”
McGregor said her husband Ian is a civil engineer at North Point Engineering in Concord. Both parents have full-time schedules and neither were not able to get significant leave time after their daughter was born.
Parent Sarah Crete said CFDC is not “your run of the mill typical day care facility.”
The center is a home away from home for students, and a lot of that is due to the staff, many of whom have worked at the center for years at a time, she said.
“My girls and I have formed undeniable bonds with the staff and teachers at CFDC. Dropping them off every morning I know I’m leaving them with people who care for them just as much as I do,” she said. “Not only are my children safe and loved, they are learning and playing and developing the skills they’ll need. CFDC takes great measures in making sure every child is heard, every need is met and every family is valued. Taking this away feels like the rug being pulled out from under us.”