A bipartisan group of state lawmakers filed several new bills on Thursday to address the shortage of child care options in North Carolina.
They held a news conference with parents, child care center directors and business leaders. Daphne Alsiyao, who works for the nonprofit North Carolina Partnership for Children, said she recently moved to the Winston-Salem area and hasn鈥檛 been able to find a child care center that has room for her eight-month-old daughter Ella Rose.
Every center she calls has a long waiting list. She鈥檚 already given up on finding an affordable option, with many programs costing more than $1,200 a month. That means she has to work from home with Ella Rose at her side.
鈥淚 feel like I鈥檓 not 100% there for my job, I鈥檓 not 100% there for her," Alsiyao said. "It鈥檚 definitely a challenge trying to juggle it all.鈥�
Ella Rose Alsiyao stole the show. Her mother Daphne shared difficulties finding . 鈥淚鈥檝e lost count of how many waitlists we鈥檙e on.鈥� 鈥檚 Debra Derr also spoke: 鈥淲e believe it is time to reimagine this critical infrastructure.鈥�
— Liz Bell (@llizabell)
Michele Miller Cox runs First Presbyterian Day School, a child care center in Raleigh. She says a shortage of teachers will only get worse when federal COVID funding runs out later this year.
鈥淭he child care industry was already broken before the pandemic struck, but now we are on the verge of crumbling," Cox said. "We are facing unprecedented teacher shortages, lack of availability for parents, and high costs at every level.鈥�
would put more than $200 million toward subsidies for child care centers. would fund $300 million in additional grants to child care centers.
would create a new program to split the cost of childcare with employers. Rep. Ashton Clemmons, D-Guilford, is a sponsor.
鈥淭ri-Share is a model that has businesses, families and the state tri-sharing the costs of child care, and we will be putting forth to start that in three counties as a pilot program and learn from it," Clemmons said.
The plan has the support of the North Carolina Chamber, the state鈥檚 main business lobby. The group鈥檚 lobbyist, Debra Derr, says there鈥檚 also a need to update the regulations that child care centers face.
"We believe it is time to reimagine this critical infrastructure," Derr said. "Solutions such as private-public partnerships and modernization of regulations that do not undermine safety and quality must be considered."
The latter proposal would extend a COVID-era pause on the "star" rating system used to evaluate child care centers. That's a program that rates centers on criteria such as how many teachers hold college degrees; it's separate from centers' regular health and safety inspections.
The "star" rating process wouldn't resume until the N.C. Child Care Commission recommends changes to the system next year.
"They haven't been looked at in decades," Clemmons said of the standards. "It's time to look at those and reform them."
Republican lawmakers from the House and Senate said the proposals have support from legislative leaders. Sen. Jim Burgin, R-Harnett, and Rep. David Willis, R-Union, are co-sponsoring the bills as part of their work with Clemmons, Sen. Jay Chaudhuri, D-Wake, and the legislature's early childhood caucus.
