Number Of Licensed Child Care Homes Continues To Decline After End Of Stabilization Grants

By Katie Dukes

Education NC

The number of licensed family kid attraction homes (FCCHs) successful North Carolina has decreased by 22% since earlier nan pandemic. 

During nan 5 years erstwhile pandemic-era backing was utilized to stabilize nan state’s licensed kid attraction programs, nan number of licensed FCCHs decreased by 19%. Since nan backing ran retired astatine the end of March, they’ve decreased by 3% — nan largest single-quarter diminution successful nan 2 years since EdNC began search these changes.  

There are efforts astir nan authorities nan reverse this trend.

In a Charlotte banquet hallway connected a caller Saturday night, leaders successful ballgowns and tuxedos gathered together to observe a group of entrepreneurs who had completed a activity programme specifically for home-based providers. 

With backing from nan Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation, MDC’s Home-Based Child Care Haven (HBCC Haven) programme paid monthly stipends to nan 10 members of nan inaugural cohort — women who run FCCHs and those who tally license-exempt family, friend, and neighbour (FFN) attraction successful their communities crossed North Carolina.

The cohort participated successful activity training, mentorship, and defense skill-building pinch nan extremity of empowering them to beforehand alteration successful nan state’s kid attraction systems. They completed their training astatine a important infinitesimal for home-based attraction successful North Carolina.

Participants successful MDC’s first inaugural Home-Based Child Care Haven program. Credit: Derick Lee

Diverging numbers for licensed centers and homes

Based connected information provided by nan N.C. Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) Council successful business pinch nan authorities Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE), EdNC previously found that North Carolina mislaid little than 6% of licensed kid attraction programs, which see some centers and FCCHs, during nan 5 years erstwhile stabilization grants were utilized to supplement coach wages. 

That remains existent since nan extremity of stabilization grants, but information connected licensed kid attraction done nan extremity of June 2025 shows that FCCHs now dress up each of those nett losses because nan number of licensed kid centers has returned to — and somewhat surpassed — pre-pandemic levels.

There were 3,879 licensed kid attraction centers successful February 2020 and 3,886 successful June 2025 — a nett summation of 7 sites. During that aforesaid period, nan number of licensed FCCHs dropped from 1,363 to 1,061 — a nett nonaccomplishment of 302 sites. 

And from April to June 2025, nan first 4th since nan extremity of stabilization grants, North Carolina had a nett summation of 44 licensed kid attraction centers. FCCHs saw a nett nonaccomplishment of 35 FCCHs successful that timeframe. 

Despite nan nett summation successful nan number of licensed kid attraction centers, enrollment has decreased by 2% since earlier nan pandemic. For licensed FCHHs, that diminution is 23%. The overall population of children property 5 and under has accrued successful North Carolina complete nan past 5 years.

As EdNC useful successful coming months to understand some nan caller summation successful nan number of licensed kid attraction centers and nan alteration successful wide enrollment, please reach retired to Katie Dukes with immoderate insights you mightiness have.

While we don’t yet cognize why nan number of licensed centers is increasing, Courtney Alexander, a programme head for MDC, has a beardown consciousness of why licensed FCCHs are decreasing.

“Many of nan family kid attraction location providers do not person status (funds), and they do not person (health care) benefits, and galore of them are already complete 40 aliases complete 50,” Alexander said. 

Alexander said immoderate of her ain colleagues are erstwhile home-based providers who gave up their licenses to return different forms of early puerility activity that would supply entree to wellness attraction and status benefits.

“If nan authorities was capable to connection benefits to each early attraction and acquisition coach for illustration they connection to nan nationalist schoolhouse teachers, that would beryllium a awesome infusion of support,” Alexander said. 

And arsenic home-based providers time off nan early attraction and learning workforce, Alexander said there’s small inducement for caller educators to capable those gaps owed successful portion to debased wages and deficiency of benefits — a problem faced by centers arsenic well.

Role of home-based early attraction and learning

While a greater number of North Carolina’s youngest learners are enrolled successful licensed centers than successful licensed FCCHs, home-based attraction plays an basal domiciled successful nan state’s early attraction and learning landscape. 

“Why it matters is nan nett nonaccomplishment of those spaces is very important to a family’s expertise to beryllium capable to find care,” Alexander said. 

Alexander and Theresa Stacker, executive head of NC Early Childhood Foundation, identified a wide assortment of reasons that families take home-based care. 

In agrarian areas pinch little organization density, home-based attraction is much applicable than centers. Home-based attraction tin besides beryllium nan champion taste lucifer for families, particularly erstwhile it comes to connection development. Home-based providers tin supply much one-on-one learning opportunities, which is particularly beneficial to identifying and supporting students pinch learning differences. 

Both Alexander and Stacker noted that home-based providers person much elastic hours, which tin use mill and wellness attraction workers, arsenic good arsenic first responders and immoderate subject personnel. 

“Family kid attraction homes person been, by far, nan leaders of having different disposable shifts for families,” Stacker said. 

“Where would families who activity 2nd and 3rd displacement find attraction if they only had centers to trust on?” Alexander said. 

Home-based early attraction and learning besides plays an important domiciled successful providing babe care. 

Alexander noted that parents thin to for illustration home-based programs complete center-based programs erstwhile it comes to infants. 

She said caller parents particularly are much apt to want their infants to beryllium pinch group from their organization who they already cognize and trust, and who will create a individual narration pinch their child.

In licensed care, FCCHs enroll a higher proportionality of infants than centers. In February 2020, 9% of students enrolled successful FCCHs were infants, compared to 6% of students enrolled astatine centers. 

The nett nonaccomplishment of licensed FCCHs is affecting nan readiness of babe care. By June 2025, babe enrollment astatine centers had dropped 1 percent constituent — but it had dropped 3 percent points astatine FCCHs. 

For some Alexander and Stacker, nan alteration successful licensed FCCHs represents a alteration successful families having nan state to take nan champion early attraction and learning fresh for their children. 

“The families take these women because they spot them and because they don’t want to interest astir their children while they’re trying to work,” Alexander said. 

“When you suffer family kid attraction homes, you’re losing an important portion of that kid attraction fabric,” Stacker said. 

Credit: Lanie Sorrow

Subgroup trends

In summation to monitoring wide licensed kid attraction trends, location are 3 subgroups of counties that EdNC has been pursuing since we started search quarterly nett gains and losses successful licensed kid care. 

Here’s nan latest connected nan occidental counties that dress up nan area covered by the Dogwood Health Trust, majority-Black counties, and counties pinch ample Indigenous populations.

In nan Dogwood counties (Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania, and Yancey), nan number of licensed kid attraction sites is 3% little than earlier nan pandemic.

In nan majority-Black counties (Bertie, Edgecombe, Halifax, Hertford, Northampton, Vance, Warren, and Washington), nan number of licensed kid attraction sites remained comparatively unchangeable during and aft nan pandemic, pinch nan aforesaid number of licensed kid attraction sites successful June 2025 arsenic February 2020. 

And successful Robeson and Swain, which some person ample Indigenous populations, nan number of licensed kid attraction sites has besides remained comparatively stable. It’s worthy noting that while nan number of licensed sites successful Robeson is still somewhat higher than earlier nan pandemic, it’s been decreasing since autumn 2024. 

Editor’s note: The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation and nan Dogwood Health Trust support nan activity of EducationNC.

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