CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It's no secret that child care can be expensive. And with COVID-19 grants coming to an end, experts said it will likely get even more costly for parents.
A survey sent to child care providers in North Carolina revealed some alarming results.
Day care providers in North Carolina are up against several factors, including long waitlists and rising costs. A statewide survey shows costs for families could continue to rise and some providers may have to close their doors if certain grants aren't extended.
OUR SOURCES:
In 2021, the American Rescue Plan put funding in place to help early care and learning programs provide better wages and benefits to child care workers. Those stabilization grants are expected to expire in June and no new funds were added to the 2023-24 state budget.
More than 1,500 child care providers in North Carolina responded to a survey about the stabilization grants and the future of the industry. Nearly 30% of those programs expect to close when the grant money runs out, according to NCDHHS. Singerman said that 92,000 child care slots statewide could simply disappear.
"That will have a major impact on families' access to child care and employers access to employees," Singerman said.
Meanwhile, 88% of child care providers say they expect to charge parents more to make up for the loss of grant funding. In Mecklenburg County, the average cost for infant care is $16,000 a year. Survey responses say that if those grants are gone, it will increase by nearly $2,000.
"As pandemic funds end, the question is what will happen to the compensation that child care teachers receive?" Singerman said. "It's not tenable to have that revert back to $12 an hour."
The survey also shows more than half of child care providers have already tried to cut costs by reducing the number of staff members and cutting hours.
Contact Meghan Bragg at mbragg@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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