Childcare firm owes $560,000

The Education Ministry is still waiting to recover more than half a million dollars of taxpayers' money it lost from the collapse of a national home-based childcare service in January.

It is waiting for liquidators to finalise the liquidation process of Easy Mind Home-Based Childcare before deciding whether it needs to take legal action against the failed company to get back the $560,000 it is owed.

It is not yet clear how the debt to the ministry was incurred by the privately-owned company.

Joint liquidator Robbie Neilson said it would be at least a month before the liquidation process was wrapped up.

Easy Mind went bust on January 8, leaving 300 Palmerston North carers fearing for their jobs, and more than 100 children wondering where they would go.

Nationally, the company had 23 networks, 38 full-time and part-time staff, and 257 paid caregivers.

The liquidation caused some caregivers and families to jump ship to other childcare providers, but liquidators were able to find a buyer for the business on January 19.

The Palmerston North, Feilding, Hawke's Bay and Gisborne businesses and their assets were bought by Central Hawke's Bay-based Scallywaggs Ltd.

The company's own home-based service provider, Sprouts, took over the running of Easy Mind, and held on to all the existing employees.

However, South Island Easy Mind operations were pulled as the liquidators were unable to finance them.

Scallywaggs managing director Martin Ennor said in January that Easy Mind's outstanding debts would be dealt with by the liquidators.

The ministry said it stopped any payments to the company once it went into liquidation.

- © Fairfax NZ News