Katie's Kids lose major source of funding

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. - The owner of Katie's Kids Learning Center broke down after hearing her center in Delray Beach will lose the hundreds of thousands of dollars in government money it depends on every year.

Just moments after her tears starting falling, Katie Muhammad addressed the media, visibly stunned by the vote.

"I'm devastated, I'm devastated I haven't even had the chance to digest all this," she said.

The decision was voted on by a 6-member executive committee with the Early Learning Coalition of Palm Beach County. The group doles out millions of dollars to day cares across the county.

Thursday's vote comes two weeks to the day since 2 1/2 year old Haile Brockington was found dead. It is believed she was forgotten in the back seat of one of the day care's vans. The driver of that van was fired.

Haile's tragedy coupled with a series of new violations discovered just this week showed this center is unsafe, said Committee Chair, Kathy Adams.

"The children we fund have to be safe. I want all children to be safe, but I can only control the children under my auspices," she said.

The decision to pull the center's funding means families who attend the day care and receive government help will no longer be allowed to go there.

Parents like Latoya Johnson, who came out to support Katie's kids, fear other centers won't be able to offer what Katie's Kids offers.

"That's the only child care that picks up after school students and brings them here, I don't know what my kid is going to do," she said.

Haile Brockington's family was visibly absent from the meeting, but their attorney, Andrew Yaffa, was there. He called the vote a step in the right direction.

"It's a safer institution now, hopefully they will fix their problems," he said.

The vote will force 99% of this day care's population to leave. 32 jobs are also in jeopardy, as the owner of Katie's Kids in Delray Beach finds herself dealing with the death of a child and her own financial survival.

"I'm more concerned about my families and staff, then I am myself."

Funding will be pulled in 15 days. Last year, Katie's Kids in Delray Beach received $223,000 in government assistance.

The Early Learning Coalition will help families relocate to a new day care. The committee also voted to increase the amount of monitoring and oversight that takes place at the other Katie's Kids locations in the area.