Just as they picked up their kids Friday, parents got the news the state is shutting down the day care center at 4711 Martin Luther King Boulevard.

"I don't understand why this is happening now," Parent Melissa Goedert said. "Now I got to find new day care for my kids.

The Department of Human Services would not confirm the reason.

Owner Joyce Reser, who was operating the center under another woman's license, blames the previous owner.

"The licensee, which is not me, she had done something prior to me owning the place June 16th," Reser said.

Reser only operated the center about a month, but she's run a home day care center on Mount Hope Highway since 2005.

"I'm operating fine at another day care," she said.

A DHS investigation indicates otherwise. She's licensed for the home center under the name Joyce Cathey. Our research on DHS's website turned up numerous allegations and investigations on her and her home business.

According to a special investigation report dated June 4, 2008, Cathey is a felon-- convicted of drunk driving in 2001, frequenting illegal drug establishments in 1996, plus assault and battery and simple assault in 1996 and 1995.

Her most recent arrest came in May of this year. She's accused of hitting a man with a hammer while the children were inside her home. She spent 26 hours in jail, but charges were never filed.

Separate reports cite Cathey for things like leaving children unattended in a vehicle and showing them movies like "American Pie: Band Camp" and "Scary Movie III"

The parents we spoke to at the MLK center had no idea of Cathey's past.

"It makes me think twice about where my kids go to get day care," Parent Evelena Davis said.