Inside The Industry: Florida Day Care Closes Down Without Telling Workers or Parents
Children’s Playskool facility suddenly closed its doors after staff said the owner cleaned out the business, took all the money and left without a word. “I’ve seen this stuff on TV and now it’s happening to me and I’m in disbelief,” said Nadia Caruso. Caruso said she’s one of the lucky parents who found out a day early that Children’s Playskool is closed and the owner is nowhere to be found.
According to records, the owner is Celianne Santos Romero, who also goes by Chelsea. She hired movers to help clear out the place over the weekend. On Monday, those movers were shocked to find out no one was ever notified. In fact, they’ve said they’re upset because they claim they still have not been paid.
Owner of Hard-Working Team in Daytona Beach, Stephanie Smith, told Local 6, “She had us throwing away blankets and clothes, taking their names off of their bins, saying the parents know about it, they just left this stuff. (Romero) told me all about the fact that she is going to Puerto Rico and, you know, she told all the teachers that she was closing. Well, if you told the teachers you were closing, why do you have teachers knocking on your door?”
“Everything in there is gone, and my check,” Caruso said. Caruso isn’t the only parent who lost money; employees are left without a job. “I have three kids. Two are disabled and now, how am I supposed to pay for some of my stuff?” said former employee Jane Kimsey. “This is very upsetting. This leaves about 10 of us without a paycheck,” said Tina Goldin.
Goldin worked at the day care for more than three years and said she showed up to the facility Saturday night and called police after she heard the owner, Romero, was secretly packing up. “She was out back with her van, U-Haul truck, and moving her stuff,” said Goldin. Employees said they knew something wasn’t right when hours were getting cut. They weren’t able to clock in electronically anymore and learned that the day care lost 90 to 95 percent of its Early Learning Coalition state funding in July. Now, the owner has left parents, employees and children in a bind.
“She has left everybody in the dark. No paycheck, the parents are going to come over here on Tuesday morning to drop off their children and they will have no place to go,” said Goldin. Local 6 called and left messages with Romero but she has not returned calls and no one answered at her home. The staff at Children’s Playskool said they’ll be at the facility Tuesday at 7 a.m. to tell parents what’s going on. Staff members said that if parents need a place to take their child, they can drop them off at the Future Stars Preschool Academy. Meanwhile, the movers are planning a fundraiser of some sort to help the parents.
For an establishment predicated on trust and professionalism, a day care needs to trust in the fact that if it opts for insurance coverage, it should be as comprehensive, and reliable as possible. At BB Insurance Marketing, we want to do more than earn your business; we want to earn your trust. Make sure you protect your child care facility and the precious children that use it on a daily basis. Contact us to learn more about our Florida day care center insurance solutions or fill out our quick quote form and get a free quote today!