'The emergency that we’ve been talking about is here'

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Editor’s Note: A previous version of this edition stated that NC Pre-K is funded with federal funds. It is funded by both state and federal funds.

Last week marked the start of the short legislative session. That means legislators are making tweaks to the budget they passed last year. They can also take up bills that passed at least one chamber last year. As Early Bird readers know, the session comes at an uncertain time for child care across the state — with as many as a third of providers expecting to close after federal funding ends in June.

“The emergency that we’ve been talking about is here,” said Erin Carson, director of the state chapter of the National Domestic Workers Alliance.

I started the week off Sunday facilitating conversations on the funding cliff and other challenges and opportunities in the field between early childhood professionals (in the photo above) and legislators at the Hunt Institute’s Holshouser legislative retreat. It was an honor to witness the educators share their experiences and needs.

On Wednesday, the session started. On Thursday, Gov. Roy Cooper released his budget proposal. I wrote a preview outlining what’s at stake this session, and EdNC’s Senior Reporter Hannah Vinueza McClellan unpacked Cooper’s budget. Next, the House and Senate each will release a proposal and work together to approve a compromise.

Early childhood advocates’ top priority is a one-time $300 million allocation to extend compensation grants and avoid child care closures and further price increases for parents. This is the same amount they pushed for last year without success. Cooper’s budget asks for $200 million for the same purpose.

Of course a one-time investment sets up another cliff for the system. The proposals that look to long-term strategies to increase access, affordability, and quality include:

• Establishing a subsidy floor.
  That would level the playing field for programs serving children whose families receive subsidy assistance to pay for child care. Right now, the amount programs receive varies widely depending on what parents in a given county can afford. Advocates are asking for $95 million annually. Cooper is asking for $128.5 million for the same purpose.
• Funding the full cost of NC Pre-K.
  Cooper’s budget proposes $197 million annually to fully fund NC Pre-K, the state’s preschool program for at-risk 4-year-olds. Right now, the state only covers less than half of the cost (with a mix of state and federal funds). And with pandemic relief expiring, the rates providers receive to operate the program will be returning to pre-pandemic levels. That means NC Pre-K classrooms will see an average annual decrease of $3,860, according to a spokesperson from the Department of Health and Human Services.
• Expanding Smart Start funding.
  Advocates are calling for an annual $10 million for the Smart Start network, which provides support for the early childhood system and administers a variety of programs and funding at the local level for families with young children.
• Covering the cost of child care for child care teachers.
  Although many child care teachers already receive discount rates for their own children to enroll at the program, some advocates and legislators are considering using state money to further subsidize this cost. This is an item on the NC Licensed Child Care Association’s list. Cooper’s budget asks for an annual $25 million to provide “free or reduced cost care for the children of roughly 2,200 child care providers,” the proposal says.
• Tax breaks for child care providers.
  Sen. Jim Burgin, R-Harnett, co-chair of the early childhood caucus, mentioned using tax policy to incentivize new child care programs in an interview with EdNC as a longer-term strategy to fund child care.
• Public-private partnerships.
  There is growing momentum among local and state business owners and chambers of commerce interested in solving child care issues for their employees and the larger workforce. The two-year Tri-Share pilot, funded during last year’s session and launching in three regions this year, provides a strategy for businesses to do so. The program splits the cost of child care between participating businesses, eligible employees, and the state. Cooper’s proposal asks for a one-time $400,000 to add a fourth region to the pilot.

Until next time,

Liz Bell

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Liz Bell is the early childhood reporter for EducationNC.