With No Firm Rules In Place From State, Daycare Operators Face Tough Decisions During Coronavirus Pandemic

HOMEWOOD, Ill. (CBS) -- When it comes to daycares, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is leaving the critical decision on whether to close for the coronavirus pandemic up to their owners.

CBS 2 Investigator Megan Hickey was pushing for answers Monday about state and federal funding as some daycares and preschools prepare for the worst.

For weeks, child care centers have been more or less making their own rules.

Some are requiring visitors to wear masks, while others are taking kids' temperatures at the door.

It wasn't until Sunday night that the state finally issued some specific guidance to child care facilities.

But the message was basically, "It's up to you."

Any Illinois State Board of Education funding or Department of Children and Family Services funding will not be impacted by attendance rates for the next two weeks.

"I like to be able to make my own decisions but there will be some backlash from the parents," said Daphne Williams, owner of the Smarty Pants Early Learning Center.

Williams is keeping her Chicago daycare open for now.

Tonja Brown, director of Near the Pier Development Center, made the difficult decision to close starting Tuesday. She said it's not the outside funding that they're worried about.

"Most of our parents are out-of-pocket payers who are looking to be compensated for the time that they will lose," she said.

Home daycare owner Pamela Walker also closed her doors. But her decision was a hard one when considering parents.

"If they don't go to work, they don't get paid, they don't eat, so they have to go to work," said Walker, owner of the Carriage House Center.

Julie Kashen, director of Women's Economic Justice at the Century Foundation, said the federal government should be responsible for making sure that the early childcare industry with a nearly $100 billion economic impact nationwide stays afloat.

"Really thinking about who is hit hardest and making sure that any dollars the federal government is spending are going to those people first," she said.

The daycare operators hope relief will come from the state level, too.

"There is a need and we just need to make sure that is understood by the governor's office that we are in need of relief just like every other entity," Brown said.

The state says it does not regulate refunds to parents. That's up to the contract that daycare centers have with families.