Understanding your local child care network

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Early Bird readers, hello again. Newcomers, welcome! If you were forwarded this email, you can sign up here to receive it every two weeks, and join our conversation on issues facing North Carolina’s young children and those who support them. If you’re already a subscriber, please help us reach more people by sharing this with your friends and co-workers interested in early childhood education.

Happy new year, Early Bird readers! In 2023, you’ll be hearing from Katie Dukes, EdNC’s early childhood policy analyst, a lot more in Early Bird. Lucky you! A message from Katie on her new guide to local child care landscapes:

Here on EdNC’s early care and education team, we ask a lot of questions about the availability of high-quality child care across the state. And sometimes it’s hard to find the answers we’re looking for. But there’s a resource that the Division of Child Development and Early Education releases every month that can help — the Child Care Statistical Report.

At almost 900 pages, the report can be a little… intimidating. That’s why we’ve created a guide to help anyone find the information they’re looking for. 

Maybe you’re a local leader looking for opportunities to support children, families, and workers. You might be interested in how many licensed sites already exist in your county and what age children they serve.

Maybe you’re a provider looking to open a home-based site (also known as a “family child care home”). You can see who else has already done that in your area and what type of license they have. 

Maybe you’re a soon-to-be parent looking for nearby sites that provide licensed infant and toddler care. You can see what your options are — though if you live in Polk or Hyde counties, there are none.

Whoever you are, our EdExplainer: How to use the Child Care Statistical Report can help you navigate learning about the early care and education landscape anywhere in the state. 

And we’d love to hear what you find! For example, we noticed that in Pasquotank County’s December 2022 report, there are no 5-star licensed family child care homes. This raises questions about the types of barriers home-based care providers may face during licensing. 

What can you learn about licensed child care in your county? Email me your notable finds via [email protected], or tweet them to us via @kneldukes and @EducationNC on Twitter.

Below, don’t miss Head Start and Early Head Start research and a piece on what Medicaid expansion would mean for the early childhood workforce.