NORTH CAROLINA, USA — There is a shortage of child care options available across North Carolina, leaving families on waitlists for months. Staffing shortages are being cited as the culprit.
State advocates fear the industry will collapse.
“Those first three years of life are crucial and critical for a person's later success in school and in life,” Jenna Nelson, the executive director of the North Carolina Early Education Coalition, said.
According to the group's website, North Carolina has a statewide average of more than five families with babies competing for every available licensed child care space. Some areas are facing extreme shortages. Data shows that 10 counties have 10 or more babies for every licensed child care space.
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"The entire state is a child care desert, which means there are more children who need child care than there are available child care slots," Nelson said. "This is especially true in our rural areas.”
It’s a fragile industry made worse by the pandemic.
“There has been a tremendous amount of turnover in early childhood," Rhonda Rivers, regional director for LeafSpring School, said. "The demand has increased but the support hasn’t."
Providers survived the last few years because of federal relief received during the pandemic but advocates say it will only stabilize things through the end of 2024.
“It’s those funds that allowed us to pay teachers respectable and livable wages so we can recruit them,” Rivers said. “When that money ends and that money is not slated to continue to come … then we will have a crisis that goes beyond what we can even imagine.”
On average, an infant toddler teaching staff makes $11 an hour, according to Child Care Services Association. While 3- to 5-year-old teaching staff make on average $12.45 per hour.
With other industries offering higher wages, it makes it tough to recruit and retain teachers, leaving some providers with the classroom space and the supplies, but not enough teachers to accept more children.
“In order for our youngest citizens to be well cared for, and well-educated, they need competent staff,” Nelson said.
The state could face an additional economic stressor.
“If children don't have child care, their parents can't work,” Nelson said. “Then the many businesses that rely upon those workers who have young children would no longer be able to open or operate efficiently with the staff that they need.”
It comes down to funding. Advocates say without public investment, to help support young children and their families, the programs will be forced to close their doors.
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“What we are trying to do is bring attention to, and we are needing as a society to bring attention to, is gaining public investments for early childhood so we can meet the need of our children and bring in qualified teachers so our families can get back to work,” Rivers said.
“We’re just at a really critical point where we need our local leaders, our state legislators, and our federal policymakers to pay attention to child care and to start making some investments so that we can all thrive,” Nelson said.
There are no corners the state can cut when it comes to child care, she added.
“For example, at Target, there was only one cashier, and everyone else had to go through the self-checkout,” Nelson said. “So, they're having to open more self-checkout lanes. Well, you can't self-checkout at child care, you really need those highly qualified teachers. And you need those low ratios to ensure health safety and the best education that a young child can get.”
Rose Harris is one mom trying to get back to work.
“I got a couple of job offers and I was like, 'OK, great. I can start probably in two weeks, I just need to find child care,'" Harris, who has a 1-year-old daughter, said. "Then I started calling day cares and that was a disaster."
Harris worked remotely through COVID-19, took a break for a few months, and is ready to find something outside of the home. However, she might have to wait longer than expected.
“The shortest waitlist time was nine months," Harris said. "And that was for the least expensive one, which was $365 a week which is still fairly expensive."
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“You are constantly calling and trying to get in contact with someone, asking, 'What number am I on the waitlist, do you know when there will be an opening?'” Nyree Cooper, who is looking for a spot for her 1-year-old daughter, said.
It’s a waiting game for parents.
From the costs to availability, finding a day care for her daughter is made even more challenging because she doesn’t have a car. Her daughter has been on four waitlists since May.
“Some of them have $100 or $75 fees you have to put down to go on the waitlist,” Cooper said. “I was like I’m not doing that for four or five. So I did it for two that you have to pay $50 each. I did two that are free.”
Child care helps kids with their development and socialization skills. Some parents are worried their kids will have some delays in those areas because of how long it is taking to place them in day care.
“She is to the point where she is very clingy to her parents because she is always with us so she doesn’t do a lot of independent play,” Cooper said. "I’m trying to find things that are fun but close that I can do with her and that’s a lot. Then just the no socializing aspect of her not having kids to play with, that's hard too."
Her fingers are crossed a space opens up in January or she may have to move.
“I don’t know. If I don’t find something we might have to relocate,” Cooper said.
It's a challenge many families face.
“It’s important that we look to our politicians as we head into the midterm elections to make sure they are supporting early childhood,” Rivers said. “If they don’t have early childhood as a priority on their agenda then we have a big issue that needs to be addressed. That is how we continue to keep our doors open because of the support of our local and state politicians and leaders.”
With no additional funding in sight, advocates predict the market will collapse by the end of 2024.
Contact Jesse Pierre at jpierrepet@wcnc.com or follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.