Interior designer Sandra Givelber said her 6-year-old daughter usually puts up a fight when she picks her up from the SoulShine after-school program in Atlanta's Kirkwood community.
"She never wants to leave," the Virginia-Highland interior designer said.
But Givelber and 40 other parents who have enrolled their children at SoulShine were forced to find alternate accommodations Monday after the Kirkwood facility was shut down by a state regulating agency for not being licensed.
SoulShine's director, Shannon Smith, said she has been working to obtain that license, adding she was blindsided when she received a cease-and-desist letter late Thursday afternoon from Bright from the Start, which oversees the state's day care facilities.
"I am 100 percent willing to comply," Smith told the AJC Monday. "I just need the time to do it."
According to state regulators, Smith has had more than enough time.
"Bright from the Start notified the owner of SoulShine in 2008 and in August 2011 that the after-school program she operates is required to be licensed. SoulShine did not pursue licensing," the agency said Monday through a spokeswoman, Stacey Moore.
"We are currently investigating a complaint that SoulShine is operating illegally. Our agency has no way of knowing if the program has met fire marshal's office approval, zoning approval as well as other health and safety requirements," Moore said.
Smith said she could not acquire a license in 2008 because her program was housed at a Candler Park elementary school that was "not up to code."
"The playground equipment didn't meet Bright from the Start's standards," Smith said. She then moved the program to a nearby facility on the Lake Claire Community Land Trust, assuming she'd be exempt from a state license.
"We're an after-school program, not a day care," said Smith, who contends her profits are minimal in comparison with the larger facilities because she's only open from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m.
But, according to Smith, state inspectors told her she could not meet their standards operating on a land trust.
So Smith moved SoulShine again, this time to its current location in Kirkwood. She said she was developing a state-mandated curriculum, part of the certification process, when she received the cease-and-desist letter.
"I was becoming compliant, and then I'm told to close it down without being given any options," said Smith, who has a staff of 15 instructors. SoulShine's ratio of less than four students to every teacher would qualify it for the highest rating in a new evaluation process proposed by the state.
Temporary licenses are granted by Bright from the Start, but the agency said Smith was already denied an exemption in 2008, when SoulShine was housed at the Candler Park school.
"The program was advised to become licensed at that time" and didn't, Moore said Monday.
The process to obtain a license could keep SoulShine shuttered for awhile.
Smith must first obtain "inspections and approvals from local jurisdictions, [the] fire marshal's office, complete background checks and meet licensing rules, as required by Georgia law," according to the spokeswoman.
Meanwhile, parents of SoulShine students say they aren't going to let the facility go without a fight. They've already secured 431 signatures on a petition calling on the state to grant Smith a temporary license.
"It's an amazing place," said Maria Azuri, whose son has been enrolled at SoulShine for 2 1/2 years. "I have complete trust in all of the staff. For us, it's a home away from home."
Azuri and Givelber said Smith was upfront about not being licensed.
"They make me feel like I'm the Jesse James of child care," said Smith, 31. "I have a $3 million insurance policy taken out on SoulShine. We have a camera in every room. This is my passion in life, to provide a place where parents know their kids are in a safe learning environment."
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