Tot Spot in Ontario plans to shut down giving parents just 10 days notice to find new child care

Tot Spot is shutting down.

The Ontario child care facility serves families in Wayne County. Meanwhile, parents told News10NBC they felt blindsided by the move- as they were given less than two weeks to find alternate care.

Owners Mark and Wendy Mendola said that ‘semi-retirement’ was a cause for the shutdown. They said closing now made the most sense as summer months are the slowest for the facility.

The facility’s final day in business will be July 16- giving parents less than 10 days now to find another option.

“If there were any indications that you were going to be doing it, why not say, ‘by the end of the summer, we’re going to be closing, we’re reducing hours to save money, we’re reducing hours to save staff’?” John Nadig told News10NBC. He said the entire ordeal has left his family- and countless others with tons of questions.

Another issue is the apparent lack of UPK programs. There are three in the area, according to one parent who’s son was scheduled to start at Tot Spot this fall. Now, with closure of that facility there will be just two.

“With the pandemic, especially Wayne County, Livingston County, and even Monroe County, those are the counties that we serve, and they got hit really hard,” Jeffrey Pier, executive director of the Child Care Council said. “We lost a lot of centers and a lot of programs. We are in the rebuilding phase right now, so to lose a program this size definitely hurts the industry.”

Staff Report

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