For the first five years of children鈥檚 lives, many families are experiencing child care challenges 鈥� which have been at the center of discussions among since Gov. Josh Stein established the group in March.

But gaps in child care do not disappear once children start kindergarten. Finding affordable, high-quality child care solutions for school-age children should be part of the state鈥檚 continuum of care, advocates and providers told the task force Monday.

鈥淭he parents I work with don鈥檛 experience child care as a 0 to 5 situation,鈥� said Beth Messersmith, task force member and campaign director of MomsRising鈥檚 North Carolina chapter. 鈥淭hey experience it as a 0 to 12 situation, or older.鈥�

Many families need care before and after the school day and during the summer months in order to work and keep students safe and engaged. However, four in five students in North Carolina do not have access to the out-of-school care they need, according to from the national Afterschool Alliance.

Students, including young children, are instead spending time unsupervised. About 3% of K-5 students, 11% of middle school students, and 34% of high school students spend an average of 5.7 hours without adult supervision per week, according to the same report.

Providers shared their struggles to serve children despite high demand and the benefits children, families, and businesses see when out-of-school care is accessible. After-school programs face many of the same challenges as child care programs. And some child care programs serving children before kindergarten also serve school-age children when school is out of session.

Families need care that works with their schedules and engages students in activities that support them academically and socially, said Elizabeth Anderson, executive director of the , a nonprofit under the Public School Forum of North Carolina. That requires funding, workforce supports, transportation, and creative partnerships, Anderson and a panel of providers said.

鈥淭he more we can create a spectrum of opportunities for birth through grade 12, the more that children and families in our state are going to recognize the positive economic impacts of those investments,鈥� Anderson said.

Report due in December on child care solutions ahead of short session

The governor鈥檚 task force will release a report by the end of December with recommendations on how the state should expand access to high-quality, affordable child care. Stein formed the group earlier this year as pandemic-era child care funding ran out and advocates across the state and country called for consistent public investment to meet families鈥� needs.

The state legislature did not allocate new funding for child care this year and did not pass a new comprehensive budget. Some new funding, though lower than advocates鈥� and state officials鈥� requests, was included in budget proposals from Stein鈥檚 office and the House and Senate, but those proposals were not ultimately passed.

The main child care legislation that was passed made regulatory changes to loosen staffing requirements and allow providers to serve more children in classrooms with appropriate space and teacher-to-child ratios.

The task force will meet again in February, though a date is not yet set. Ahead of next year鈥檚 short session, members on Monday discussed what role the group should play in moving policy solutions forward, including six recommendations in the :

• Set a statewide child care subsidy reimbursement rate floor.
• Develop approaches to offer non-salary benefits to child care professionals.
• Explore partnerships with the University of North Carolina System, N.C. Community Colleges System, and K-12 public school systems to increase access to child care for public employees and students.
• Explore subsidized or free child care for child care teachers.
• Link existing workforce compensation and support programs for early childhood professionals into a cohesive set of supports.
• Explore the creation of a child care endowment to fund child care needs.

As the state faces many funding requests, federal funding uncertainty, and slim tax revenue, members said more legislators need to be aware of the state鈥檚 child care crisis and why it鈥檚 relevant to the state鈥檚 economy and future.

鈥淢aybe we have some more work to do around actually educating and engaging members of the General Assembly to get this on their radar and build more champions,鈥� said Susan Gale Perry, CEO of and task force member.

Funding to address issues of access, quality, and affordability is needed, members said, and considering existing funding streams rather than new ones might be more politically feasible in the short term.

鈥淐ertain proposals about, 鈥楲et鈥檚 just go raise taxes,鈥� are probably not going to be something that is going to get across the aisle agreement, but it does create the opportunity to looking at areas where tax rates are already set, or certain revenue streams are already existing,鈥� said Mary Elizabeth Wilson, task force member and the Department of Commerce鈥檚 chief of staff and general counsel.

, who chairs the task force along with Lt. Gov. Rachel Hunt, said he and other legislators will be introducing legislation that would double the tax rates on sports gambling.

鈥淚f it鈥檚 for the children, everybody needs to support it,鈥� Burgin said. 鈥淎nd I don鈥檛 believe in gambling 鈥� I鈥檓 doing it because we need the money.鈥�

Child care fixes would also increase tax revenue, said Erica Palmer-Smith, executive director of nonprofit NC Child and task force member.

鈥�(The generated revenue) would more than cover the overall cost that we would need to put in in the long run to fix the child care system,鈥� Smith said.

鈥楾he gap between 3 and 6 and between May and August鈥�

Many families either do not have an after-school program nearby, do not have transportation to programs, or cannot afford programs, Anderson said in a presentation to the group Monday.

In 2025, 188,295 children participated in after-school programs, but 664,362 additional children would have if they had access, according to the presentation.

Programs are funded through a mix of private grant funding, public funding, and parent tuition. The two biggest funding sources are from the federal government: the , which funds child care subsidies for young children and school-age children up through 12 years old, and through the Department of Public Instruction.

After-school programs exist in all different types of facilities 鈥� community-based organizations, schools, faith-based organizations, and child care centers and home-based programs. Anderson described these programs as 鈥渇olks stepping in to fill the gap between 3 and 6 and between May and August.鈥�

Students benefit when they access out-of-school programs, she said. In the case of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers, 72% improved their attendance in the 2023-24 school year, 75% of students had decreased suspensions, and 90% improved their overall engagement in school.

Anderson said the skills employers are seeking align with those that children are gaining from after-school programs, like problem-solving, teamwork and collaboration, communication, and leadership.

鈥淲e know that our after-school programs are an important place where children get to interact with one another and interact with mentors and positive adult figures that help them build these skills, which ultimately help them to become more successful, independent earners in the future,鈥� she said.

Like child care programs in the early years, after-school programs not only help children, but allow parents to work. In a survey from the national report, 91% of parents said these programs help them be able to keep their job.

Families face particular challenges in the summer months. from LendingTree of more than 600 parents found this year that 66% of parents who seek summer care struggle to afford it, and 62% had taken on debt to pay for summer care.

Anderson said more conversations on child care should extend beyond the early childhood period. She pointed to that found educational and occupational attainment improvements were higher when children had access to both early care and education and out-of-school care once they entered school.

鈥淚t is something that parents need and want,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think that we talk a lot about what happens for children birth to 5, but a child does not turn 5 years old and suddenly not need opportunity.鈥�

Subsidy funding and reform would help, experts say

North Carolina is one of 23 states that does not have state level funding for after-school care, Anderson said. Anderson and panelists said funding is needed to retain teachers, increase access, provide transportation, and help families afford care.

Jon Williams, manager of the statewide at the Southwestern Child Development Commission, is focused on increasing the quality of out-of-school care across the state. He said the transient nature of school-age professionals disrupts consistency for children, families, and programs. A burdensome orientation process creates challenges for owners and directors constantly onboarding new people.

Williams said business training for after-school program directors would be helpful. Many have educational backgrounds and lack the business expertise to be successful in a challenging environment.

鈥淭hey don鈥檛 have that financial background that is needed to run a business, and that creates a lot of financial instability,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淚f they don鈥檛 know how to orient or get new staffing in, that creates a huge problem.鈥�

A policy change that several panelists and task force members raised as a need is to align the for child care subsidies across age groups. Right now, families who earn less than 200% of the federal poverty line are eligible for child care subsidies when their children are 5 years old or younger. But for school-age children, the threshold lowers: families must make less than 133% of the poverty line.

That disrupts care for families whose children need after-school care going to kindergarten or for families with multiple children of different ages who would prefer to send all of their children to one program.

A statewide subsidy floor, which is one of the policy priorities of the task force, would also help school-age care providers, said Erica Simmons, vice president of youth development at YMCA of Catawba Valley.

The floor would raise the per-child rate that child care programs receive to the state鈥檚 average rate. In cases where programs receive more than the average rate, they would continue receiving the same amount.

鈥�(The floor) would make it a little more equitable,鈥� Simmons said.

She said it costs similar amounts to provide care at her licensed programs in rural and urban communities. But the subsidy rates are much lower in rural areas.

鈥淲e have the same requirements for staff, we have the same programming requirements,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no difference in the amount that we spend per program as an organization. However, there is a very big difference in what we are able to capture for subsidy. So there鈥檚 a big funding gap.鈥�

Williams said there was a gap of $8,000 for one program just last month between the cost of services and the subsidy reimbursement. Annually, some programs in her network accrue around $100,000 in funding gaps for caring for children through subsidy.

Programs also receive subsidy payments retroactively. Changing the timing of funding could relieve some of the financial burden from programs, Williams said.

鈥淚 get paid via subsidy after I provide the services, and that鈥檚 a huge problem if I鈥檓 already in the red,鈥� he said.

鈥溾�� When we think about the mental health of our administration and our directors, that just adds fuel to the flame,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淎nd it creates another gap, a 30-day gap, where I can say, 鈥業 can鈥檛 do this anymore,鈥� and then that care drops off. So we have to rethink how we get that money out in the state. We have to rethink the rates at which they are given.鈥�

Panelists also shared that liability insurance rates have risen drastically. Williams said her program鈥檚 rates have increased by 44% over the last year, a trend among child care providers overall. 聽from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) found 80% of respondents saw their liability insurance costs increase in the last year and 62% reported difficulty finding or affording it.

Updates on care for public employees, workforce supports, and funding models

The task force has been split up into three subgroups which have been studying how to move toward the group鈥檚 six recommendations.

Samantha Cole, child care business liaison at the Department of Commerce, said a subgroup focusing on expanding child care access for public employees has looked at models across K-12, community college, and UNC-system schools to create child care solutions.

They studied on-campus early learning models at Buncombe County Schools鈥� , North Carolina A&T University鈥檚 , and at Haywood Community College.

鈥淲e really see that there have been a lot of successes that have come about in these three examples and others, but they鈥檙e hyperlocalized,鈥� Cole said. More external communication is needed for other campuses to understand how and why peer institutions are offering child care.

Madhu Vulimiri, senior advisor for health and families policy for Stein鈥檚 office, said the subgroup focused on workforce compensation and supports has been studying strategies to ensure early childhood teachers have access to non-salary benefits like health insurance.

They have studied the possibility of adding early childhood teachers as an eligible population for , subsidizing ACA marketplace premiums through state dollars, and educating early childhood providers about the recently launched Carolina Health Works, which offers options for groups of small businesses.

The group is also studying how existing workforce supports like TEACH scholarships, child care academies, and apprenticeships could be more seamlessly tied together to strengthen the early childhood profession. They have requested that the Hunt Institute create a map to demonstrate what supports are available in what counties.

鈥淭hat will help us see more holistically, where do we have resources and where are there gaps, and help us hopefully target future resources that we might have to expand those statewide,鈥� Vulimiri said.

The third group, which is focused on financing, has been studying several states鈥� approaches to endowments and other funding mechanisms for child care, including Nebraska, Connecticut, Arizona, Montana, and Washington, D.C. They aim to develop a paper that weighs the options for North Carolina and analyses costs and benefits of each.

This first appeared on and is republished here under a .

Then the pandemic hit鈥攁nd like so many other facets of family life in America, Dallas鈥� afterschool programs felt the effects, closing down or drastically shrinking as program staff quit for higher paying jobs in other industries and fear over COVID-19.

With fewer spots available, children are now waiting up to 60 days to be enrolled. Another way to see it: For every child in an afterschool program in Dallas, there are three to four waiting for an available spot.

鈥淲e saw there was about a 45 percent seat loss in programs that were either no longer able to run, or that had to close,鈥� said Dallas Afterschool vice president of program services Marjorie Murat. 鈥淭hese afterschool programs are really a lifeline for working families, and they exist to support the working families and sustain the family unit.鈥�

The afterschool shortage in Dallas is not unique.

As the pandemic has continued, afterschool programs across the country are facing staffing shortages, forcing them to reduce the number of children they serve or close down completely.

COVID-19 has exacerbated the long-standing issue of low wages of afterschool staff, advocates said. Most afterschool care programs have a starting salary of $9-$12 an hour. Coupled with rising concerns about the virus and now the Delta variant, many are not returning to work, with some leaving for jobs that pay much more and are less risky.

The staff shortages have resulted in child care headaches for parents like Jessica Canales, a Dallas employment recruiter, whose kids were waitlisted for weeks after returning to school in early August. Pent up demand created a huge need for afterschool care.

For weeks, with no childcare in place, Canales was forced to leave work, picking up her children at 1 p.m., halfway through the school day. 鈥淢y kids would miss everything else,鈥� she said.

It took a direct appeal to the principal to finally get her kids off the waitlist and into the program.

鈥淚t was very frustrating,鈥� said Canales, 鈥渆specially when you have two parents working … I was so stressed out, I thought I had to quit my job.鈥�

The issue of retaining afterschool workers is longstanding, advocates say.

鈥淏efore working during the pandemic, these jobs barely paid a living wage, let alone access to sick leave,鈥� said Jodi Grant, executive director of the Afterschool Alliance. Once COVID-19 hit, she said, workers became fearful about showing up for work.

In at least one state, afterschool workers who refused to get vaccinated have continued to come to work and are wearing masks 鈥� prompting some colleagues to leave their posts.

There have been warning signs the worker shortage in afterschool has been getting worse in the last 18 months.

A national report by the Afterschool Alliance found more than half of summer programs (52 percent) 鈥� many of which also run afterschool programs 鈥� have waitlists compared to 40 percent last summer. Officials say the increase is due to staffing shortages created by the pandemic.

The workers have found opportunity and less risk during the pandemic: Within the last 16 months, afters school staff in some Omaha, Nebraska programs have been leaving for higher paying jobs at outlets such as Target and other businesses where workers start at $15 an hour compared to the $11.50 to $12 an hour offered to starting afterschool workers.

鈥淲e have sites that will not be able to open because they just don’t have the staff,鈥� said Megan Addison, Executive Director of Collective for Youth in Omaha.

鈥淲e have sites that will not be able to open because they just don’t have the staff,鈥� said Addison, Executive Director of Collective for Youth in Omaha.

In addition to low pay, advocates say workers have little room to grow.

鈥淧eople have to look into other industries not only due to money but also due to the lack of social mobility within the sector. It鈥檚 very hard for people to grow and move on into other positions,鈥� said Lissette Castillo, the Director of Community Schools in Cambridge, Massachusetts. 鈥淔or example, educators can move from paraprofessional to educators to administrators, there is a lack of support for afterschool staff to have access to programming like that.鈥�

With news of the Delta variant, other afterschool care programs are also struggling to navigate vaccine and mask mandates and protocols. In Nebraska, when educators were able to get vaccinated in early spring, only 50 percent of the afterschool staff at Collective for Youth programs did so.

鈥淎 majority of our staff are younger, and we also work with a lot of people of color who had some concerns regarding the vaccination. Some staffers also already had gotten COVID-19 and didn鈥檛 feel the need to get vaccinated,鈥� said Addison. 鈥淏eing a Republican state, and having many opportunities to get vaccinated, many of our partners are leaning towards optional, to not seem self-superior.鈥�

Some Omaha afterschool centers are operating with non-vaccinated staff, but are still short staffed as workers fearful of getting sick leave their job, said Chief Operating Officer of Kids Can Community Center, Josh Gillman.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been operating with 70 percent of our staff being vaccinated, and the other 30 percent who have declined even though they鈥檝e been offered. We require all staff to wear masks presently at all times,鈥� Gillman said. 鈥淥ur normal daily service scope of students would be 800 if we were fully staffed, but right now we have 20 vacancies with our normal 70 positions…which reduces our capacity by a couple hundred of students we can serve each day until we wait to fill those positions.鈥�

In Minnesota, an afterschool official in Saint Paul said the most alarming issue for afterschool programs is the lack of follow through with COVID-19 safety protocols, as administrators avoid having the corrective conversations with staff and students.

鈥淧eople will say it’ll be safe if we all wear masks and stay six feet apart. But when you enter a building, and people aren’t wearing masks and aren’t six feet apart, those that are a little bit more sensitive to the health risks of COVID-19 don’t feel comfortable,鈥� said one official. 鈥淎nd the principals and assistant principals in the past haven’t done anything, because we did go back to school last spring, and that was a big issue.鈥�

As the United States intends to return to normalcy, with some delays due to the Delta variant, afterschool care programs will be integral to aid those with children in order to go back to work.

鈥淢any people have no choice but to go back to the workforce and put their fears aside…there are many reports out there and research on the impact of afterschool and how it is an integral part of children’s learning,鈥� said Castillo. 鈥淎nd yet the [afterschool care] staff at the frontline have been shamefully neglected and disregarded and the field itself has yet to receive the recognition and the respect that it deserves. Keeping in mind how families need to go back to work and the ones at the frontline will be on the line helping them get back to work.鈥�

For her part, Canaldes knows she was lucky 鈥� lucky that she could leave her job and pick up her children early while she wanted for a spot in the afterschool program; and lucky she was able to finally get them into the program.

鈥淭here’s certain families who cannot wait three to four weeks to find afterschool care programs, especially with the epidemic and everybody going back to school. It鈥檚 an immediate challenge,鈥� said Canales. 鈥淚t is very frustrating.鈥�