Increasing lay- offs and tighter budgets have more and more people pulling their children out of child care.

This is a drastic drop providers have never seen.

"There's a childcare center in Duluth where the director has said that she has never had to advertise openings because she's had even a waiting list and just recently she said that she put an ad in the paper," said Lynn Haglin, Vice President of the Northland Foundation.

"There have been a lot of parents who have lost their jobs, one parent out of a family and so they don't need child care any more," said Jody Zastera.

She has been a child care provider for twenty years, and runs Kids and Company in Two Harbors and says she's seen 10-15 percent of her business dwindle since the first of the year.

"We have had parents that have been laid off at different times but never this many in this amount of time," Zastera said.

"It is very difficult because child care can be very costly they always equate it to the same cost as college tuition and so for families who have low incomes and or no longer have an income it's almost impossible for them to be able to pay for child care," said Haglin.

This causes a concern because where are these children spending their days when mom or dad are looking for work?

Some people are turning to cheaper alternatives, like those offering services on Craigslist.

That's also a concern because child care centers provide more than just a babysitter.

"What's really important is as we look at dwindling dollars that we really recognize from the baby's point of view that they need somebody that's there, that's sensitive and responsive and consistent," said Dr. Terrie Rose, who has a PHD in Psychology.

Consistency, research shows, will pay off in the future.

"Later on things like special education, which is costly, won't be necessary because children will know how to go about learning and building relationships and managing frustrating experiences," Dr. Rose said.

For now, Zastera is just glad her job is safe... and hopes those she lost will be able to return soon.

"We can always hope that that will happen for their benefit and mine," said Zastera.

The 420 people who work in child care that came to the DECC today were asked if the economy has hit them... and of those who responded, 64- percent say they have seen a drop in business.