Roughly 16,000 families waitlisted for child care vouchers as Mississippi providers struggle to stay open

Cantrell Keyes is working 90-hour weeks and losing $15,000 a month at the child care center she directs in Jackson.

Nearly half of the 46 families attending Agape Christian Academy World last spring lost access to Child Care Payment Program vouchers, which are essentially coupons that make child care affordable, Keyes said. Ten families left the facility as a result, and another 10 of the remaining families are not paying Keyes the full tuition. Keyes says she will keep serving her families until the day the center’s faltering finances puts her out of business.

“I have been in the industry for close to 30 years now and never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would be going out like this,” Keyes said with tears in her eyes.

She worries that day will be soon if the state doesn’t com