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Childcare workers in North Carolina can struggle to afford care for their own children, adding pressure to a sector already facing recruitment and retention challenges. Some centers provide employee benefits, while a Watauga County initiative has helped 18 workers with care costs; the state has not adopted a statewide program like Kentucky’s.
Childcare workers in North Carolina are struggling to afford care for their own children, prompting some centers and communities to test employee subsidies as providers try to recruit and retain staff. The report describes benefits at a Durham center and a Watauga County assistance program, while a statewide subsidy similar to Kentucky’s has not been established in North Carolina.
At Kate’s Korner in Durham, owner Kate Goodwin provides staff with childcare support. Some employees use vouchers; for workers who cannot, the center covers all but one week of care each month, according to the report. Goodwin said the benefit is a deliberate business decision that leaves the center with slimmer margins.
A survey of about 1,200 North Carolina childcare providers found that 61% of directors said their programs already offered a childcare benefit to employees. The report said funding arrangements differ: Kate’s Korner absorbs most of its benefit costs, while other communities are seeking help from businesses, nonprofits and government.
In Watauga County, the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation launched a childcare assistance initiative the year before the report. With $40,000 from local donors and businesses, it helped 18 childcare employees with 22 children, averaging $684 per child. The program is intended to ease workers’ care costs and support local childcare staffing.
Care Costs Can Weaken Center Staffing
The affordability problem can affect more than an individual worker’s household budget. The report says workers who cannot afford care for their children may leave the field for better-paid work, making it harder for centers to keep enough staff. Staffing shortages can mean smaller classrooms, shorter operating hours and reduced enrollment, limiting care for families who rely on it.
The income and cost figures in the report illustrate the pressure: an Appalachian State University study found childcare workers earned an average of $30,600 a year, while the median monthly cost of childcare was $900. At that average annual salary, one child in care would take about a third of gross income. The report notes that some workers earn less, including in rural counties.
Local benefits may help individual employees remain in the field, but they rely on centers or communities finding money to pay for care. A statewide subsidy could spread that responsibility, though the source does not establish whether North Carolina policymakers are pursuing one.
childcare subsidy vouchers for working parents
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Local and State Models Differ
North Carolina’s approaches described in the report range from a single center covering much of employees’ care costs to a community-funded initiative. The Watauga program links childcare assistance to a broader effort to address a local shortage and support the area’s workforce. Chamber president David Jackson said the assistance can give employees another reason to stay with a center.
The report places these efforts against a wider economic backdrop. North Carolina’s labor force participation rate was described as around 58%, compared with about 61% nationally. Business leaders cited in the report say unaffordable childcare is a major part of the workforce challenge. The article also describes providers as still recovering from the loss of federal funding that had helped stabilize the sector.
Kentucky offers a different model. Its Free Child Care for Child Care Workers Program, launched in 2022, subsidizes care for workers employed at least 20 hours a week at a center, regardless of household income. The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce said more than 5,300 childcare-worker families benefited over the preceding year and that lawmakers made the program permanent earlier in the report’s publication year. The chamber said at least nine other states had enacted similar policies.
“As a business owner, I made a decision that my margins will be slimmer than most because I felt like this was the commitment I needed to make.”
— Kate Goodwin, owner of Kate’s Korner
North Carolina Statewide Plans Remain Unclear
The report describes support for a statewide North Carolina subsidy from Goodwin, but it does not identify a state proposal, funding commitment or implementation timetable. It is also unclear whether the Watauga initiative will receive continued funding, how many workers across the state lack affordable care, or how much assistance would be required to meet that need.
The survey figure reflects directors who said their programs offered a childcare benefit; the report does not specify that all benefits fully cover employees’ care or explain how the survey’s respondents compare with providers statewide. The average wages and childcare costs also do not show what every worker or family pays.
Funding Will Shape Future Support
The immediate next steps described in the report are continued local experimentation and debate over whether North Carolina should create a broader subsidy. Watauga’s program would need ongoing donor, business or public support to continue assisting workers; the source does not report a new funding decision or a renewal date.
Goodwin’s call for a statewide benefit is an expressed preference, not an announced policy. Any move toward a North Carolina program would require details on eligibility, funding and administration. The report does not identify a legislative action or scheduled decision, so whether local pilots expand—or the state adopts a model similar to Kentucky’s—remains open.
Key Questions
What childcare benefit does Kate’s Korner offer employees?
According to the report, some employees use vouchers. For those who cannot, the Durham center covers all but one week of care each month.
How many workers did the Watauga County initiative help?
The Boone Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation initiative used $40,000 in local donor and business funding to assist 18 childcare employees with 22 children. Assistance averaged $684 per child.
Does North Carolina have a statewide childcare subsidy for childcare workers?
The report describes local benefits and a Watauga County initiative, but does not identify a North Carolina statewide subsidy. Goodwin said she supports creating one.
How does Kentucky’s program work?
Kentucky’s program subsidizes childcare for workers employed at least 20 hours a week at a center, regardless of household income. The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce said more than 5,300 families benefited over the year preceding the report.
Source: rss
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