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The recession has hit hard in some Roaring Fork Valley preschools as parents scramble to find ways to cut their household budgets after losing hours or even jobs.

Preschools that had lengthy wait lists for students to enroll as recently as one year ago now have openings. The unused capacity is costing preschools thousands of dollars per month in revenue and forcing them to cut the hours of teachers.

"It's been unheard of that we had any open spots," said Melissa Goodman, assistant director of the nonprofit Blue Lake Preschool in El Jebel.

Statistics tracked by Kids First, an organization that works on children's issues in the Roaring Fork Valley, showed Blue Lake Preschool had a waiting list with 116 toddlers and 46 infants in September 2008. The school has 58 available spots daily, infant through pre-kindergarten. Of the hundreds of openings during the course of the week, 69 were unfilled the first week of September, Goodman said.

That translates into about $17,000 in lost revenue for the facility, Goodman said.

Blue Lake isn't the only preschool facing challenges. "The economy has definitely affected child-care programs up and down the valley," said Shirley Ritter, director of Kids First. "They're not in dire straits, but they don't have 30 to 40 people on the wait list like they used to."

In some cases, some very successful programs have consolidated classrooms. Others are being flexible by reducing the number of required days or even offering half-days to try to hold onto students. A few child-care facilities have reduced rates.

A big concern is that small, home-based centers that handle only six kids or so will lose a student or two, won't find replacements and will be forced to close because of the hit to their budget.