Strengthening Availability and Access to Child Care in Rural Communities
Rural communities have distinct density features that are associated with unique characteristics of how families access child care and the type of care they are most likely to use. In general, rural families face increased challenges in obtaining high quality, affordable child care that is within a reasonable distance from home or work, compared to […]
The Desperate Need for Affordable Child Care: The Numbers Tell The Story
The affordability of high-quality childcare is a crucial factor influencing family economic security and the broader economy. As parents with young children attempt to balance workforce participation and caregiving responsibilities, child care costs emerge as a major financial hurdle. It’s not just low-income families that need help paying for child care; working and middle-class families have […]
The Child Care Shortage is Holding NC’s Economy Back – Here’s How We Fix It
North Carolina Doesn’t Have Enough Child Care Spaces Imagine five families standing in line, but only one child care spot is available. This isn’t just an image—it’s the reality for thousands of families across North Carolina. Data shows that more than five families compete for every licensed child care space in our state. This crisis […]
A Stable System of Birth to Five Child Care and Early Learning
Amidst a budget deadlock in June 2024, North Carolina passed $67.5 million in funding for child care. This is LESS THAN A QUARTER of the $300 million deemed necessary by early childhood education professionals to begin stabilizing the statewide child care crisis. It stands as a reminder that child care, and more broadly early childhood education, is a bipartisan […]
Parents and early educators guide CandL’s vision for a more equitable early care & learning system
Recap of CandL’s May 2024 briefing for stakeholders In May 2024, the Care and Learning Coalition (CandL) brought together stakeholders from around the state to share an update and opportunities to make our voices heard for child care and early learning in North Carolina. To kick off the briefing, Dr. Devonya Govan-Hunt shared a poem, “Why can’t […]
CandL Listening Sessions Reveal what Parents and Providers Say Defines Ideal Child Care
Oftentimes, at the North Carolina Early Childhood Foundation, we talk about how important it is to have good child care as it pertains to supporting brain development in children, enabling parents to work, and the necessity to compensate early childhood educators for the valuable care and education they offer these children and their families, to […]
CandL Data Launch
To ensure that the voices and needs of parents, teachers, and providers are heard in conversations about early care and education, we conducted a listening tour of focus groups among these stakeholders across the state. The goal of the listening tour was to listen to and more fully understand the wants, needs, and dreams of […]