Holly Ridley

DALTON, Ga. — There’s a domino effect slamming day-care facilities here: No job for a parent means no money for day care means less demand and layoffs at day-care centers.

With the Dalton metro area unemployment rate at more than 12 percent, locals are wondering how many dominos will fall.

Staff Photo by Margaret Fenton Abigail Morgan, left, spent about 20 minutes Tuesday afternoon pretending to be a dog with classmates Katie Colindress, center, and Lexus Stacy at the Mill Creek Daycare in Rocky Face, Ga. The facility offers a free Pre-K program through Georgia's Hope Scholarship that typically has a waiting list for the 40 openings each year. Right now, there are only 36 children attending the classes, because parents are unable to afford gas to bring them each day, according to director Sheila Woods.

Mill Creek Child Care Learning Center in Rocky Face, Ga., for one, has fewer children enrolled, said Celia Cantrell, lead pre-k teacher.

The job market has never affected the day-care industry this much in her 25 years as a preschool instructor, Ms. Cantrell said.

“If you don’t have the children who are able to attend, then you can’t employ the staff,” Mrs. Cantrell said. “If the numbers are down, it affects everything.”

Parents who have lost jobs account for 10 children out of preschool in the past few months, almost a fifth of the school’s children, she said.

Much off the center’s pre-k program is funded through the Georgia Lottery, and some parents can’t even take advantage of the free program, Mrs. Cantrell added.

“We’ve lost some children due to the fact that we can’t get them here,” Mrs. Cantrell said. “Parents have to bring them and they can’t afford to.”

Pleasant Grove Methodist Church’s day-care program near Dalton is maintaining enrollment numbers but recently combined some small classes and cut four employees to save money, officials said.

“Right now we’re doing OK,” said Elaine Foster, a board member for the program. “Parents have to work, so right now they’re leaving their children in here and they do the best they can.”

At Mill Creek, Mrs. Cantrell said administrators also may combine classes and cut staff.

There are exceptions, though.

Precious Possessions PreSchool and Daycare in Dalton has a waiting list for its program for children from infancy to age 5. In the summer it accepts children up to 12.

“We are not the norm because every other day care I talk to is losing children,” said Holly Ridley, executive director at Precious Possessions.

“We have a day care locally that is up for sale, and several church child-care facilities are thinking about not offering it any more,” she said. “We’ve been blessed. ”

Mrs. Ridley said four of the center’s parents lost jobs last year, resulting in six children pulled from the program.

“It hasn’t impacted us in a great way, but we are seeing it,” she said. “The economy’s pretty well affected everybody. Everyone knows of someone who has lost their job recently.”

Countryside Childcare in Chatsworth, Ga., recently had two children leave because parents lost jobs, said director Christy Patterson.

“It’s not too bad, but we’re hoping we don’t lose anymore,” she said.