Cherished Legacy Academy, a 24-hour Las Vegas daycare near Tropicana and Jones, says a shakeup in how Nevada pays out child-care subsidies has gutted its operation, slashing hours and triggering mass layoffs. Owner Rachel Jackson told reporters the center’s enrollment has crashed from about 180 children to roughly 20, and staff has been cut from about 50 workers to just seven. The pullback has left low-income families scrambling for child care and forced the provider to scale back the overnight coverage many parents relied on.
Speaking with 8 News Now, Jackson said a recent shift in the state’s payment processing created such a backlog that the daycare’s revenue plunged almost overnight. She said roughly 90 percent of the families the center serves depend on subsidies, and several parents are still waiting on approvals or reimbursements before they can bring their kids back. Without that money coming in, Jackson said keeping a full staff and true 24-hour operations would have meant racking up losses the small business could not absorb.
State Takeover Left Providers Waiting for Payments
The slowdown followed Nevada’s decision to pull administration of southern Nevada’s Child Care and Development Program from the Las Vegas Urban League and handle payment distribution in-house, a transition that began in 2025. State officials told FOX5 that staffing dedicated to these cases dropped sharply in the changeover, from about 70 or 80 employees at the nonprofit to fewer than 20 at the state. That cut, along with misfiled emails and migration headaches, has slowed processing and left providers across the valley reporting delayed reimbursements and stuck subsidy applications.
State Says It Is Working to Speed Payments…