Childcare centers aren’t struggling with low enrollment. Properly staffing the facilities has been a different story.
Northwood Childcare in Roscommon County opened during COVID while three other childcare centers closed around them.
The daycare is holding strong, but staffing has been their biggest issue, said director Amanda Deslisle.
“It’s a stressful environment," she said. "You know, kids--they can cry, and some people can’t handle it. It takes a very strong individual to do this field.”
She thought low staffing wouldn’t have been the main problem, she said, but she says other daycare centers she’s familiar with are facing similar challenges.
She doesn't know what to do, she said.
"I don’t understand how people can’t work," Delisle said. "I’m a mom of four kids, and that’s all I ever did was work."