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
In a statement to 8 News Now, the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services said the Child Care and Development Program “aims to issue payments within 30 days of receiving complete timesheets” and is rolling out process changes intended to make the system more efficient. Jackson and other providers say those fixes have yet to show up in their bank accounts, and some low-income families still do not have fully approved subsidy cases. Providers say hitting the 30-day target would be a critical step toward rebuilding payrolls and restoring the services they had to trim.
Nontraditional Hours and Private-Pay Pressure
Cherished Legacy has marketed itself as a rare option for parents who work late nights and odd hours, advertising overnight and around-the-clock care at its Tropicana Avenue site. Cherished Legacy's site lists the address as 6018 W. Tropicana Ave and promotes 24-hour service. The turmoil at the center comes on the heels of broader state changes to the child-care subsidy program, including eligibility tweaks and copay adjustments that rolled out in late 2024 and have been tracked by advocates and local coverage, First5 Nevada reported.
What Parents and Providers Can Do
Parents trying to figure out where their subsidy case stands can email the Child Care and Development Program directly or sign up for the state’s CCDP listserv for updates. The Division of Social Services keeps a resource page that includes child-care information and links to the Access Nevada portal where families can start or update subsidy applications. Providers are urged to double-check that every timesheet is complete and submitted exactly as instructed to prevent avoidable delays, and to monitor state guidance for any policy or process updates. Official contact details and resource links are available on the Division of Social Services' child-care resources page.
Jackson said she is hoping the state’s fixes land quickly so families can return and the center can rebuild its lost hours and jobs. Until then, Cherished Legacy is running on a reduced schedule and warning parents to expect limited overnight availability while the subsidy system slowly steadies itself.
