Governor Roy Cooper visited and toured the Fayetteville State University Early Childhood Learning Center today to highlight the NC Child Care Stabilization Grants. To date, more than $655 million has been distributed to 4,200 child care facilities across the state to support and retain the early educator workforce.
“Investing in early childhood education is one of the most important things we can do for the future of our state,” Governor Cooper said. “These grants are helping provide parents with the time and flexibility to keep and obtain good-paying jobs while ensuring their children are cared for. I commend Fayetteville State University for its commitment to preparing our early childhood educators and providing high-quality early care and learning.”
“Well-trained, educated and compensated early care and learning teachers are at the heart of high-quality child care,” said Kristi Snuggs Ed.D., Deputy Director of the Division of Child Development and Early Education at the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. “With the help of historic federal investments, North Carolina and our early childhood programs and teachers have kept child care open through the pandemic so children were learning and parents were working. With federal investments ending soon, now is the time to work together to keep early childhood teachers doing the work they love and attract more well-qualified teachers to the field.”
“We are honored and elated to receive a North Carolina Child Care Stabilization Grant to bolster our facilities and services and to recognize and reward our faculty and students for their crucial work and essential care,” said Chandrika Johnson Ph.D., interim dean of the FSU College of Education. “The College of Education is proud to prepare the next generation of early child care educators and serve our community at the same time through the center.”
“Teaching and learning early in a child’s life are crucial to their overall development and readiness for the next stage of life,” said Jocelyn Smith-Gray E.D., assistant professor of birth through kindergarten and assistant chair of FSU’s Department of Early Childhood, Elementary, Middle Grades, Reading, and Special Education. “We deeply appreciate the confidence in our program this grant represents, and we look forward to giving educators and students the tools and support they need to succeed and make a difference.”
“The College of Education at Fayetteville State has been preparing dynamic and caring educators of the highest caliber since its inception,” said FSU Chancellor Darrell T. Allison. “Our faculty, staff and students are deeply committed to the welfare and well-being of the children and families we serve. The North Carolina Child Care Stabilization Grant is a powerful affirmation of their incredible contributions; we congratulate them for their achievements and look forward to what lies ahead.”
Over the course of the pandemic, a historic $1.9 billion in one-time federal dollars has been invested in NC’s child care system to stabilize it, keeping child care programs across the state open and teachers working.
This funding to support child care programs will be fully expended in October 2023.
ICYMI: Learn more about the NC Child Care Stabilization Grants and how these funds are helping child care centers across the state succeed:
WITN: Gov. Cooper announces more than $655 million given to child care centers
October 18, 2022
Gov. Roy Cooper is celebrating the success of a grant program to help child care centers across North Carolina
One child care service impacted by these grants was the State Line Children’s World center in Scotland County. The governor toured the facility Tuesday and is highlighting how the support impacted their workforce.
“High-quality early learning gets children the strong start they need while allowing parents to stay in or get back into the workforce,” Cooper said. “These funds will help raise pre-school teacher pay so we can keep them in the profession to continue educating, nurturing and supporting our children.”
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Davina Daberry, assistant director of State Line Children’s World, added that this grant helps get teachers better benefits like bonuses, paid wellness days, and mental health support. She also says this service will remain cost-free for parents and guardians thanks to the grant.
The NCDHHS announced it is extending the grant program that is supporting early care and learning teacher pay through December 2023.
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Courtney Cole - April 7, 2022
More money is still available to help North Carolina childcare centers bounce back from the pandemic.
In October 2021, Governor Cooper announced the launch of the North Carolina Child Care Stabilization Grants, a historic, federal $805 million investment in the state’s early care and learning programs.
Since the launch of the program, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has distributed over $340 million to nearly 4,100 child care centers across the state.
For nearly 30 years Nana’s Place Learning Center has enriched the young minds of children across Mecklenburg County, but March 2020 threw a wrench in their plans.
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“Attracting and retaining these educators is critically important, they’ve got to love their work to do this,” Cooper said.
These funds won’t last forever, childcare centers can only use them for 18 months; which is one reason why the Governor is pushing for more sustainable funding.
“I’m proposing additional help in my budget in the future and we’ve got to continue the efforts,” Cooper said.
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Meilin Tompkins and James Brierton - October 21, 2022
A week after announcing a new North Carolina grant program intended to keep workers on the job, Governor Roy Cooper and other political leaders visited a Charlotte child care Thursday to highlight the program's ability to help teachers.
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"[Schools and child care facilities] need to try to entice more teachers to come on board, but also keep the ones they have," Cooper said Thursday. "And being able to provide raises and bonuses and to improve working conditions and to increase the quality of the services they're providing to these children and parents, all are going to be critical."
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According to the government's office, grants funded by the $805 million program can be used for a range of activities including: personnel costs; mental health supports; payments for rent, mortgage, utilities, facility maintenance, or insurance; personal protective equipment (PPE); equipment and supplies; and goods or services necessary to maintain or resume child care.
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NC Health News: An $805 million investment in NC child care amid COVID
Anne Blythe - October 8, 2022
The signs on the side of the Community School for People Under Six, a child care and early learning center in Carrboro, were decorated on Thursday with large, brightly colored letters.
“WELCOME,” the top banner stated. “Welcome Governor Roy Cooper” was spelled out across another one.
With sounds of children playing outdoors in the background, Cooper and U.S. Rep. David Price, a Democrat whose congressional district includes Carrboro and all of Orange County, made an announcement outside the 51-year-old school that will be welcomed by many in the child care industry.
Such centers and other early education programs across the state will have access in November to $805 million in federal aid that will be distributed through the North Carolina Child Care Stabilization Grants program.
“This is really exciting for us because it will help shore up our child care centers and help provide them with the assistance they need to retain and attract quality teachers,” Cooper said.
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