ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The announcement that the Carlson Child Care Center at YMCA of Greater Rochester will close its doors for good at the end of August leaves many families looking for a new place to send their children.

“It’s been really complicated taking care of him, as my son is trying to finish his dissertation and I’m trying to help out,” said Josephine Gaeffke.

Walking her grandson Alex through Cobbs Hill Park, Gaeffke says that she does everything she can to help her son avoid child care costs.

“We are helping them out a lot because I don’t know how they would do it if we couldn’t help them out,” Gaeffke said.

Despite a demand for affordable care, Gaeffke says the number of options is shrinking.

In a statement Friday, the YMCA of Greater Rochester announced that it will close the doors of the MetroCenter building on East Main Street on August 30.

The statement reads, in part, “Despite our best efforts, we have been unable to find long-term, committed partners to share this space for positive community impact.” As such, the YMCA has decided to list the building.

David Kolczynski, owner and CEO of Cares-A-Lot Child Care Centers around Rochester, says to keep child care centers open, workers need to be paid more,

“We have to raise wages to keep good quality staff, and we have to pass that cost on to the parents,” Kolczynski said. He added: “Our teachers are doing the same level, in my mind, the same important work that an elementary school teacher is doing, for about half the wage.”

Assemblywoman Sarah Clark says she is proud to have gotten $13 million included in the state budget to go toward differential pay for child care providers who work non-traditional hours.

“We are far from fixing this, and every child care provider deserves to make more money than they would at a fast food restaurant. They are the keeper of our babies,” Clark said.

But for Kolczynski, the additional funding won’t help his staff who work during the day, making keeping and retaining workers more expensive — a cost he says is ultimately passed down to parents.

“At the end of the day the families — I mean we don’t lose, we feel bad about doing that, but the families are the ones that lose in this situation,” Kolczynski said.

The YMCA says it will be working with families directly and in partnership with Child Care Council to assist in finding care for those who still need it. Services will continue through August 30.