MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. — Starting this month, Mecklenburg County officials are seeking solutions to the prohibitive costs of child care by expanding eligibility to a subsidy program to give more parents the opportunity to access child care. The county is investing $10.5 million over the next two years into this initiative.
The average yearly cost of infant care in Mecklenburg County is more than $14,000 and care for the first five years of a child’s life is equivalent to the cost of four years at UNC Charlotte. That is out of reach for many families.
“If you are working at minimum wage, the cost of child care is more than 75% of your income,” Janet Singerman, the CEO and President of Child Care Resources Inc., said.
Child Care Resources Inc. is the organization the county contracts to run the subsidy program. Singerman said there is a large group of people in Mecklenburg County who make too much money to qualify for the state’s subsidy program but not enough to afford quality child care.
This expansion is aiming to reach those families.
“Young children are early learners, but their families are early earners," Singerman said. "So, they’re just not quite able to access the eligibility requirements for child care subsidies so they can’t be served."
The county is investing millions of dollars to expand the subsidy eligibility, a change Singerman expects will give the majority of those families access to the support. It raises the income limit to 300% of the poverty level and reduces the number of work or school hours needed each week to qualify.
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“The bottom line is this is increasing access to opportunity for adults and for their children,” she said. “Short-term economic opportunity for the parents and long-term economic opportunity and social mobility through high quality early learning for the children.”
It helps day care centers too.
“A lot of times once we tell our rate to people, they gasp because child care is very expensive," Karen Jones, the owner of Nana’s Place Learning Center said. "But it’s also expensive to operate and it’s hard to balance because teachers aren’t paid enough but parents are breaking the bank."
Jones said it’s heartbreaking, but they’ve had to turn families away over finances.
“I actually had a parent in my office yesterday crying because she can’t afford child care this week, she’s in a difficult situation,” Jones said.
She has already referred three families to the new county initiative. This will allow Nana’s Place to move through the waitlist and enroll more families who desperately need child care.
“This will be very impactful for families that were just barely making ends meet or living check to check. Even though they’re working, as soon as they were done with bills, and food and child care, there was nothing left,” Jones said. “So, this allows them to perhaps enhance their child’s life or enhance the quality of their life so that’s huge.”
Residents can call 704-348-2181 or visit childcareresourcesinc.org to learn more about their eligibility.
Contact Chloe Leshner at cleshner@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.