Applications for $20 million in disaster relief funds for childcare on college campuses to open Sept. 14
In February, Gov. Josh Stein announced that North Carolina had received $75.8 million for childcare programs from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to help them recover from Hurricane Helene and Tropical Storm Debby, according to previous reporting by EdNC.
The window to apply for grants from $20 million of that funding will open on Sept. 14 and close at 5 p.m. on Nov. 2, according to a press release from the Office of the Governor. For this round of funding, applicants must be a part of the UNC System or the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS) in areas impacted by these storms.
“North Carolina relies on high-quality, affordable early child care to support children’s healthy development, enable parents to work, and keep businesses running,” said NC Department of Health and Human Services Secretary (NCDHHS) Dev Sangvai in the release. “This investment to expand on-site child care to college campuses will reduce barriers for students, faculty, and the surrounding communities, allowing them to learn and work knowing their children are safe and receiving high-quality education and care.”
Click here to explore the public notice of the grant funding.
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Applicants from either the UNC System or NCCCS in disaster-affected counties may seek funding for “renovating or establishing child care centers on government-owned (state or county) campus,” according to the release. The proposed projects should also be responsive to community needs as defined by the Administration for Children and Families.
Currently, 16 NCCCS campuses offer childcare and 10 of the 17 UNC System campuses have some form of childcare on site, according to the release.
Research has shown that the availability of childcare on community college campuses positively impacts student success, while also helping reduce poverty for parents and expose children to high-quality early childhood experiences. You can explore EdNC’s recent series on how community colleges are expanding childcare access and affordability here.
Read more about childcare at community colleges
The $20 million comes from a total $250 million in childcare relief Congress passed in December 2024.
The NCDHHS Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE) worked with the Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina (GROW NC) and local and state partners to request the federal funding for recovery efforts in September 2025, which resulted in the $75 million grant from earlier this year. The release says the groups are “partnering to ensure the full $75 million in federal funding is used to strengthen and expand child care capacity in disaster-impacted areas.”
“Childcare is essential economic infrastructure. When a center closes, parents can’t get back to work, employers can’t staff up, and a community’s recovery slows,” said GROW NC Director Matt Calabria in the release. “North Carolina presented a strong application detailing what providers had lost and identifying what the region will need to recover. That level of diligence, combined with the input and partnership of many child care providers, is why these dollars are here.”
In March 2025, Stein established a task force to explore solutions to the state’s lack of affordable childcare. The group has also explored the impact of disaster on childcare in affected areas, which Stein called “necessary infrastructure” last year.
“Today marks a step forward in creating opportunity for children and restoring stability for families in areas hit the hardest by these devastating storms,” said Stein in the press release. “This child care funding will open the doors to new centers to support families, the workforce, and local economies across western North Carolina and the Piedmont.”
The DCDEE, under the NCDHHS, has until Sept. 30, 2030 to disburse all of the funding. Along with this $20 million investment in childcare for students across the state, the press release said that funding would also support:
- Providing reimbursement or recovery funding to eligible childcare providers
- Exploring salary supplements in disaster-affected counties to support recruitment and retention of early childhood educators
- Conducting disaster preparedness and response activities in 2027 for childcare providers
- Supporting mental health resources for children, families and staff
Childcare operators in affected areas who are not in the UNC System NCCCS may still submit damage reports to DCDEE through their Disaster Impact Report Portal to receive access to funding from the rest of this grant. Click here to access a tutorial on how to submit damage reports.
According to the release, NCDHHS personnel will reach out to childcare operators to offer assistance regarding the damage impact reports, and the department plans to begin awarding payments for eligible damages this fall on a rolling basis.