Help Joy & Gladness Overcome Financial Hardship And Closing

Joy & Gladness Children Academy functioned as a child care center in Jefferson City from 2015-2019 as the only center offering 24-hour care. Joy & Gladness Children Academy suffered a direct hit from the tornado that ravaged a portion of Jefferson City in 2019 and was forced to close and relocate as the building was deemed unsafe and ultimately demolished. After an extensive search for a new location to reopen the center, Joy & Gladness relocated to its current location, 2500 Country Club Drive in Jefferson City, with the goal of once again offering 24-hour child care. In October of 2021, Joy & Gladness Children Academy made the move to its current location and was licensed in January 2022.

Since reopening, Joy & Gladness Children Academy remains the only child care center to offer 24-hour and weekend child care in Jefferson City. A large number of businesses operate in Jefferson City with second, third shifts and weekend shifts for their employees. Those second, third and weekend shifts employees number in the thousands which more than supports and sustains the need for 24-hour and weekend child care at Joy & Gladness Children Academy.

Joy & Gladness Children Academy completed required documentation and received an acceptance notification from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) for child care subsidy. However, due to technical issues with the Missouri Child Care Data System, Joy & Gladness Children Academy has experienced and continues to experience non-payment from DESE which has over time created numerous, extreme financial hardships for the child care center. The non-payments for child care subsidies from DESE has accumulated to the point Joy & Gladness Children Academy is faced with the real possibility of closing its doors and subsequently leaving countless families with no child care services for their children. To make matters worse, these families who rely on Joy & Gladness for child care have no other options as Joy & Gladness is the only center that provides 24-hour child care.

With the backlog and lack of subsidies and extended period of time that Joy & Gladness Children Academy has gone without necessary/approved funding to operate, it is with sincere appreciation and gratitude that we ask for your support. Rest assured any contributions will be used strictly to keep the doors of Joy & Gladness Children Academy open and providing quality child care services to the families in our community.

Thank you and God bless!