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Seeking Solutions: NCDHHS updates its plan to aid early childhood development

Since 2020, there has been around a 7% reduction in child care sites in North Carolina.

RALEIGH, N.C. — In 2019, under the direction of Governor Roy Cooper, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services put in place the Early Childhood Action Plan.

The plan provides a framework for ensuring that young children in North Carolina thrive.

Five years later, the NCDHHS has updated the plan, outlining strategies and initiatives for four of the plan's 10 goals.

“The original early childhood action plan included a number of goals, but it didn't include strategies," Hanaleah Hoberman, the NCDHHS Director of Child and Family Strategy, said. "So, what this document does, it says, here are four areas that are really essential."

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The four goals of the updated plan are:

  1. Healthy babies
  2. Food security
  3. Permanent families for children in foster care 
  4. High-quality early learning

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“It was important that to us five years out to say, 'We’re still committed to the early childhood action plan. We are still committed to these goals. And we are working on this,'” Hoberman said.

Some of the work includes increasing same-day access to all methods of contraception, improving early childhood teacher compensation, and expanding the reach of nutrition benefit programs.

“There’s so much work happening across our state and what we wanted to put forth was here are the commitments are the things happening on the ground for NCDHHS that we think are critical,” Hoberman shared.

Hoberman said changes from the updated plan are already underway.

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For instance, NCDHHS is working to expand the number of pharmacists who deliver same-day access to all methods of contraception.

Hoberman also said the breastfeeding hotline is something the department will roll out in the next one to two years.

WCNC Charlotte is committed to reporting on the many issues facing the communities we serve. We tell the stories of people working to solve persistent social problems. We examine how problems can be solved or addressed to improve the quality of life and make a positive difference. WCNC Charlotte is seeking solutions for you. Send your tips or questions to newstips@wcnc.com

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