The consequences of the longest government shutdown in our nation’s history aren’t lost on Kiddie Academy® Educational Child Care. Many Academies across the nation serve the families of the federal workers and contractors who are affected. As the shutdown drags on, most of those families are struggling with the ramifications of a lapse in income. But in many locations, Academy owners are stepping up to help, looking for flexible solutions to ease the disruption in these families’ lives.
Approximately 800,000 federal workers and thousands more government contractors are feeling the pinch. Particularly hard hit are Academies in
Maryland and Virginia, where many federal workers live. According to a study done by WalletHub, these are two of the six states feeling the biggest impact of the shutdown. Since the Academies are locally owned and operated, several Maryland and Virginia franchisees are working with affected families to find ways of dealing with this hardship.
Among the arrangements they’ve come up with are:
Select Academy owners in both states that have many families impacted have made arrangements with affected families to postpone tuition payments, make partial payments, use vacation credits or receive a temporary tuition discount.
One Virginia franchise owner has allowed three families to go on a week-to-week suspension, with no re-enrollment necessary when the shutdown is over.
Also, in Virginia, one franchise owner has allowed a penalty-free payment postponement for an affected family.
Academies in Maryland and Virginia are allowing new families to postpone their start dates until they return to work once the shutdown ends.
One Virginia owner hired a furloughed government worker to help out at his Academy during the shutdown.
“We are incredibly proud of the flexibility, creativity and humanity shown by these franchise owners,” said Kiddie Academy President, Greg Helwig. “This is totally voluntary on their part. Our owners have relationships with the families they serve. Those folks are part of the Kiddie Academy system. To help out at a time like this shows the true spirit of the word ‘community.’”
