Daycares may reduce staff or face closure

Daycares in the CNMI are now talking about closing down some of their branches or reducing their staff if they continue get their payments late.

CNMI Daycare Association president Masina Leuta wrote to Gov. Benigno R. Fitial stating that the governor is the daycares’ only hope to help speed up the payment process in order to avoid closing down or getting their utilities disconnected.

There are at least 16 daycare centers under the association, all of whom claim that they have yet to receive their checks for services provided for the month of March.

Daycares have an average of three childcare providers and an average utility bill of $3,500 a month.

“We cannot afford to be receiving our checks late. We need to pay our staff and we need to pay our utilities in order to keep our businesses running,” Leuta said.

He recalled the governor saying in a Dec. 29 meeting with daycare providers, “For the payments, you will receive them as it was done by the PSS [Public School System]. Go take care of the children and I will take care of the money.”

“We the daycare providers are requesting with great honor and respect that you [governor] please take time to look into this problem of why payments to the daycares are being too long to process,” Leuta told the governor.

Press secretary Charles P. Reyes Jr. said that the governor is relying on the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs to “properly process all of the payments once all of the requirements have been met.”

“It is our understanding, from DCCA, that payments are being properly processed, but some businesses may not have met all requirements and are therefore encountering delays,” Reyes said.

In an earlier statement DCCA acting Secretary Melvin Faisao said that childcare providers are not receiving their payments if they are not meeting the deadline for submission or are not submitting required documents such W-9 forms and other important documents such as the attendance log sheet for affected parents.

Also a “meticulous review” by department reviewer spotting errors on childcare providers submission might have contributed to the delay of payments.

Leuta said the CNMI Daycare Association is requesting a copy of the original state plan that the DCCA is said to be following. “We want to know if what they are requiring of us are really indicated in the state plan.”

Reyes said that some businesses “may need to adapt to DCCA’s strict enforcement.”

“However, if businesses can clearly demonstrate deficiencies in DCCA processing, I invite them to write directly to the Governor stating their case and the Governor can take up such specific concerns with DCCA, if warranted,” he added.