photo by: Bremen Keasey

The entrance to Princeton Children's Center, located at 3340 Peterson Rd in Lawrence. The center announced it would be closed Saturday, citing financial issues.

A daycare center in northern Lawrence will close its doors Saturday due to “unforeseen” financial issues, likely creating an unexpected child care challenge for the parents of more than 60 children.

The Princeton Children’s Center, located at 3340 Peterson Rd, sent out an announcement to its families saying the center would close permanently on Saturday. The announcement was posted on its website.

“There are no words to describe how difficult this is for our families, our staff and our community,” the announcement read. “The staff have worked hard to provide your students with a great learning opportunity and a center you could all really enjoy.

The announcement said over the last 10 days, the center discovered “catastrophic financial information” about the finances at the center, claiming the center did not receive financial assistance that was previously promised.

The center said despite growing its enrollment over time from 45 to 63 students, the financial issues could not be offset by that increase.

The Journal-World has attempted to contact the owners of Princeton Children’s Center for more information about the closure and how many families and children will be impacted, but a staff member said they were unavailable.

The closure of the center adds additional stress to what one study called a major shortage of child care options in Douglas County.

According to Child Care Aware of Kansas, Douglas County’s current early-childhood education capacity only meets 49% of the demand for child care slots. The agency has determined that 2,531 additional child care slots are needed for parents in the workforce with children ages 6 and younger.

Kim Polson, executive director of the Community Children’s Center, a nonprofit aiming to fill that child care gap, said that the timing of the closure creates significant challenges for both families and providers looking to figure out child care.

Polson said that the fact it is spring break week, when some childcare centers might be closed, means that it is harder for parents who might be calling around to find a spot for their children. Additionally, the short notice of only a day instead of a longer time, like a month’s notice, makes everything much harder.

“It’s a quick turnaround and a struggle for the parents to figure out child care needs for Monday,” Polson said.

Polson’s organization recently announced it will open up the Early Childhood Community Center at 346 Maine St. and a partnership with an Ottawa-based provider that will add 140 slots, as the Journal-World reported. However, the Early Childhood Community Center will open in June and the other location should open in April, and Polson said it’s “sad” the facility isn’t ready quite yet.

Polson said Child Care Aware has a free list online that shows where slots are available, but they are not always up to date.

The announcement posted by the Princeton Children’s Center also included a baby sitting list and a list of other potential centers for parents to contact.