Prieto, who was at the center on Wednesday, confirmed the closure, but declined to elaborate. She could not be reached later in the day.
The closure has left city officials and local service providers scrambling to find alternatives for New Horizons clients who have relied on the nonprofit for daily childcare services.
"It really is going to leave a gap in the community unless someone can step in to pick up the pieces," said Camille Levee, executive director of Glendale Healthy Kids, which matches low-income children with medical and dental services. "It's just going to leave a tremendous gap that we are all going to have to pull together to help fill."
New Horizons officials were also on hand this week to provide families with referrals, Duran said.
The center had been serving up to 150 children.
"It happened very suddenly," Duran said. "There is no time to plan or to reach out. So we are doing that now."
Salvation Army Glendale, which currently operates an after-school program for about 40 children, can accept between 10 to 15 now with its current funding levels, said Capt. Rio Ray.
"We will take as many as we possibly can," he said, adding that additional funding could expand the program.
He was disappointed to hear the nonprofit would be shuttering its doors, Ray added.
"It's always a sobering and scary thing when you see another not-for-profit go out of business," he said.
New Horizons received more than $1 million in federal Community Development Block Grants, along with stimulus funding for social services and capital improvements in the past decade — all of it allocated through City Hall.
Prieto's financing came under scrutiny last year after she announced she was scrapping plans for a long-awaited expansion project after spending $300,000 in federal funding on pre-development costs.
