CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Tens of thousands of North Carolina families are bracing for the worst, now that federal funds for child care will run dry next year.
The new state budget does not include more money proposed to North Carolina lawmakers to help child care providers survive.
With a lack of funding, experts say day cares across North Carolina will close, and some already have. It's an industry in crisis, but it's also the backbone to the economy.
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“Child care is essential to all families who rely on it in order to work, and child care is really essential to our economic recovery," Janet Singerman, president and CEO of Child Care Resources Inc., said.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government invested $1.3 billion into the North Carolina child care system. The money was used for things like, tuition assistance, higher salaries for workers, and bonuses.
“It really did what it was advertised to do, which was stabilize our child care industry in Mecklenburg County," Elizabeth Kabalka, program director at Smart Start of Mecklenburg County, said.
To help continue to stabilize the industry, a $300 million extension was proposed to North Carolina lawmakers, but in the end, it was not included in the new state budget.
“We're very disappointed,” Kabalka said.
Kabalka said this will lead to high turnover of workers and even higher tuition for parents.
“They just didn’t fully understand the extent to which this will negatively impact families," Kabalka said.
According to a national report by The Century Foundation, in North Carolina once the federal money is gone, 1,778 programs will close and 155,539 children will lose access to care.
And for the day cares that survive, many families worry how they'll afford it.
“Child care in Mecklenburg County for an infant averages over $15,000 a year -- that’s more than double the cost of tuition at UNC Charlotte or UNC Chapel Hill," Singerman said.
There is still some COVID-19 money helping day cares stay afloat right now, but it will expire in June 2024.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg government officials and organizations are trying to come up with a solution, but a lot of money is needed to help the child care industry.
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