Governor Stein’s Task Force on Child Care and Early Education Release Report Proposing Initial Solutions to Child Care Crisis

Today Governor Josh Stein announced that the North Carolina Task Force on Child Care and Early Education co-chaired by Lieutenant Governor Rachel Hunt and Senator Jim Burgin released its interim report outlining six recommendations to make high-quality child care more accessible, affordable, and sustainable in North Carolina.

“Investing in child care benefits everyone. When children grow up in a supportive and nurturing environment, it sets them on the trajectory to thrive as adults,” said Governor Josh Stein. “We must come together to make child care more accessible and affordable so that we can secure a brighter future for North Carolina’s children.”

“North Carolina families are struggling to find quality child care while centers are closing their doors, making it harder for children to get the education they need and for parents to go to work without worry,” said Lieutenant Governor Rachel Hunt. “This Task Force has brought together industry leaders and community partners to find real solutions. While our work will continue, I believe this report lays out a path forward to make child care more accessible and affordable.”

“Child care is a business issue, a talent issue, and a health issue that must be addressed to maintain our competitiveness and to increase statewide prosperity,” said Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley. “Public-private solutions, like Commerce’s Child Care Business Liaison position, supported by the NC Department of Health and Human Services and Invest Early NC, are a critical piece of this puzzle and increase capacity for identifying collaborative solutions to addressing the multifaceted child care challenges in North Carolina.”

"Child care is the most important issue facing young families. In reality, many families start tackling this issue before conception,” said Senator Jim Burgin. “This task force has looked at all aspects of child care and early education and explored many possible solutions. I am grateful for Lt. Gov. Hunt and the task force as they work to support the well-being of the children of North Carolina. I would also like to thank Gov. Stein for placing importance on this topic."

North Carolina’s child care system faces significant challenges associated with recruitment and retention of early childhood education professionals, and in turn availability and affordability of care. The average cost of infant care in North Carolina is more expensive than the cost of in-state college tuition. As such, many parents with young children are making difficult decisions to leave the workforce due to lack of care, costing the state over $5.65 billion in additional economic output in 2023.

The interim report outlines findings and six recommendations developed by Task Force members to explore the key factors impacting North Carolina’s child care landscape.

TASK FORCE RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Set a statewide child care subsidy reimbursement rate floor
2. Develop approaches to offer non-salary benefits for child care professionals
3. Explore partnerships with the UNC system, community colleges, and K-12 schools to increase access to child care for public employees and students at public institutions
4. Explore subsidized or free child care for child care teachers
5. Link existing workforce compensation and support programs for early childhood professionals
6. Explore the creation of a child care endowment

A brief summary of each recommendation can be found below.

Set a Statewide Child Care Subsidy Reimbursement Rate Floor 
Child care subsidies reimburse child care providers for services they deliver to low-income families, helping low-income parents stay in the workforce, and strengthening our economy. A statewide floor for child care subsidy reimbursement rates would set a minimum subsidy rate in North Carolina, ensuring child care programs across all 100 counties receive a minimum child care subsidy reimbursement to help sustain child care programs that are currently struggling to break even.

Develop Approaches to Offer Non-Salary Benefits for Child Care Professionals  
Many child care providers are unable to offer non-salary benefits, such as health insurance or retirement, which makes it challenging to recruit and retain early childhood education professionals. The Task Force will explore whether early childhood professionals could be made eligible for non-salary benefits, such as the North Carolina State Health Plan, or offered other non-salary benefits like paid leave, loan forgiveness, and mental health support.

Explore Partnerships with UNC System, Community Colleges and K-12 School Systems to Increase Access to Child Care for Public Employees and Students  
The Task Force will explore options for increasing access to child care for public employees, including supporting subsidized child care for public sector employees. These partnerships could increase access to child care and support training for prospective child care employees by setting up child care centers on school and community college campuses.

Explore Subsidized or Free Child Care for Early Childhood Educators  
Child care as an employer benefit is a significant talent recruitment and retention tool across industries and could be particularly valuable to help grow and sustain the child care workforce. The Task Force will explore how child care workers could be made eligible for child care subsidies.

Link Existing Workforce Compensation and Support Programs for Early Childhood Professionals  
The Task Force will explore how current workforce training and compensation support programs for early childhood education professionals could be improved by expanding them statewide and linking programs sequentially along a career pathway. North Carolina currently has several programs aimed at improving recruitment and retention, including the Child Care WAGE$ Program, the Teach North Carolina Early Childhood Scholarship Program, the Building Bright Futures program, Child Care Academies, and the Family Child Care Home Pilot Program.

Explore the Creation of a Child Care Endowment  
A child care endowment leverages public and/or private dollars to set up an investment fund, the annual interest of which can be used for state child care needs. The Task Force will explore how a child care endowment could help address the current child care crisis in North Carolina by providing an ongoing source of supplemental child care funding for the state and maximizing child care funding through investment from private companies, philanthropy, and communities in partnership with the state.

In coming months, the Task Force will dive deeper into the recommendations outlined in this report, and work groups will examine additional challenges, opportunities, and innovations affecting our state’s child care and early education landscape. The Task Force will also produce an additional report and set of recommendations to submit to Governor Stein by the end of December 2025.

Members of the North Carolina Task Force on Child Care and Early Education include:

• Lieutenant Governor Rachel Hunt, State of North Carolina, Co-Chair
• Senator Jim Burgin, NC General Assembly, Co-Chair
• Senator Jay Chaudhuri, NC General Assembly
• Ashton Clemmons, Associate Vice President of P12 Strategy & Policy, University of North Carolina System
• Representative Sarah Crawford, NC General Assembly
• Amy Cubbage, President, NC Partnership for Children
• Senator Ralph Hise, NC General Assembly
• Lori Jones-Ruff, Regional Programs Manager, Southwestern Child Development Commission, Inc.
• Michelle Logan, Vice President & General Manager of Drug Product, North America, Thermo Fisher
• Amar Majmundar, Policy Director, NC Office of State Human Resources
• Beth Messersmith, NC Senior Director, Moms Rising
• Dr. Mary Olvera, State Director of Teacher Education, Public Services, and Perkins Special Populations, NC Community College System
• Ellen Pancoast, Vice President of People Operations, Cone Health
• Susan Gale Perry, Chief Executive Officer, Child Care Aware of America
• Rhonda Rivers, Chair, NC Child Care Commission
• Dan Rockaway, President, NC Licensed Child Care Association
• Gary Salamido, President & CEO, NC Chamber
• Meka Sales, Director of Special Initiatives, The Duke Endowment
• Erica Palmer Smith, Executive Director, NC Child
• Theresa Stacker, Executive Director, NC Early Childhood Foundation
• Noelle Talley, Deputy Secretary for Advocacy, NC Department of Administration
• Dan Tetreault, Assistant Director of Early Learning, NC Department of Public Instruction
• Representative David Willis, NC General Assembly
• Mary Elizabeth Wilson, Chief of Staff & General Counsel, NC Department of Commerce
• Candace Witherspoon, Director, Division of Child Development and Early Education, NC Department of Health and Human Services 

Read Governor Stein’s executive order establishing the Task Force on Child Care and Early Education here. 
Read the Task Force’s full report here. 
Learn more about the Task Force here.