Parents scrambling for childcare after Fort Myers day care surrenders license

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Parents scrambling for childcare after Fort Myers day care surrenders license. WINK News

More than two dozen parents were left scrambling for childcare services after their day care surrendered its license.

Royal Crown Academy day care near Summerlin Road and Colonial Boulevard shut down its facility indefinitely after four children, ranging in age from nine months to four years old, were discovered Saturday with no one supervising them.

Previous story: Owner of Fort Myers day care where kids found abandoned surrenders child care license

“We should’ve been able to get a notice. At least let us finish our week her for preparation. People have jobs, we had to immediately call off today,” parent Jasmyne Fluker said.

Day care employee Keajeah Tyre faces four charges of child neglect. She said she walked out one hour after her shift ended because no one else came in to relieve her.

A group of concerned parents shared their frustration and said the day care should not be closed because of an isolated incident.

“It’s stressful for all parents. It’s stressful for the staff involved. It’s stressful for the kids because they’re out here running around. They’re supposed to be inside learning and they’re not,” parent Asia Riley said.

Parents affected said they plan on sending out letters to the Florida Department of Children and Families in hopes of bringing change so other parent’s won’t face similar situations in the future.

DCF released the following statement to WINK News on Tuesday:

“Yesterday afternoon, the facility informed the Department that they were immediately voluntarily relinquishing their license. Our licensing staff and child protection staff worked in conjunction with the Early Learning Coalition (ELC) staff to call parents for pick up, explain the situation and answer questions. Our Child Protection Investigation Unit will be making at-risk referrals to the ELC for any child that was in care yesterday at the time of sudden closure. The ELC was also available today to assist parents with the transition. Additionally, the ELC is assisting with relocating children and providing transfers for children receiving VPK funding.”

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