‘Distraught and pissed off’: Businesses, providers sound alarm over cracks in NC child care industry

                                                                                       On average, there is only one licensed child care slot available for every five families who need one in North Carolina. In rural areas, the odds of finding an open slot at a high-quality center can be even greater. (Photo: Getty Images)

Erin Trant is the mother of three small children and the owner of a small business with one very big problem.

The child care program she relies on — the only one on Hatteras Island — informed her they will close their doors at the end of the year.

It’s not an uncommon scenario. In August, the state Division of Child Development and Early Education saw 47 child care programs shutter with only 22 new programs opening.

On Monday, Trant shared her story with the North Carolina Task Force on Child Care and Early Education. Gov. Josh Stein tapped the group in March to identify solutions to expand access to affordable, high-quality child care.

Trant said her 5-year-old and 2-year-old twins benefited greatly from Little Sprouts Child Care in Frisco. But staffing shortages and an unsustainable financial model forced their hand. She received word of the closure in a note, tucked into her child’s backpack in July.

“I was distraught, and I was pissed off to be frank,” Trant said. “My husband and I don’t have family around us to be able to help or lean on. I sell real estate. I work full time.”

But with the only licensed child care center on the island closing, her family is facing a tough decision.

“We’re faced with the choice of do I quit my job, which frankly pays our mortgage and buys groceries, or do we close our business that has sort of become a staple in the community, or do we move?”

Trant said her twins were born prematurely and having them in a structured childcare facility has been tremendously beneficial. An unlicensed facility is not a tenable solution.

On average, there is only one licensed child care slot available for every five families who need one in North Carolina. In rural areas like Hatteras Island, the odds of finding an open slot at a high-quality center can be even greater.

Cassandra Brooks is the owner and operator of Little Believer’s Academy, which runs two child care centers serving Garner and Clayton.

She said many child care providers are finding that the money coming in doesn’t cover the amount they need to cover their lease, their staffing and supplies.

“It just does not equal up. So you have to say, is this worth it? And a lot of them have said this is not worth it,” Brooks told the panel.

Brooks said she knows child care providers are making the difficult decision now whether to stay in business in North Carolina another year.

“No one wants to feel like a failure in any business that you start, especially many small businesses. This is like their heart. This is like their baby. But at the end of the day, if you can’t operate and you can’t pay your staff, then you don’t have a viable business,” said Brooks.

Parents are also doing the math. Few can afford to pay more.

The average annual cost of infant care in North Carolina is $11,720, according to an interim reportreleased this summer by the task force. For two children in child care, the average annual cost is nearly $19,500.

Angelia Shipp, who operates the Doletta Learning Center, said her licensed center in Forsyth County has seen enrollment decline as state and federal stabilization funding approved during the pandemic has sunsetted.

“Stabilization was very good when we had it, but now the stabilization is gone. It has caused a lot of the providers here to close their centers. And I am one of them. I am on the brink of making that decision to close my doors,” Shipp said.

Shipp said she’s proud of those who have graduated from her program, but with just one child in her child care center now, the finances no longer work.

“Without funding, we cannot sustain our homes. Our children are going to fall through the cracks,” she added.

Brooks said high housing costs have also hurt her employees. One worker, a single mother who recently split from the child’s father, had just 10 days to find a new place to live or face eviction.  She felt blessed when a person at her church agreed to rent her “a little shack” for $800 a month.

“My teachers are already struggling. They’re going to struggle even more. They’re on food stamps. They’re on Medicaid. They’re on all these things,” Brooks confided.

A 2024 study found 42% of early childhood teachers rely on public assistance to meet their basic needs.

Like Shipp, Brooks benefited from stabilization grants to provide her workers with higher wages. But without support from the state, that could change.

Brooks was asked Monday what advice she would give to her younger self or someone who is considering opening a childcare facility in North Carolina.

“I would say don’t do it,” answered Brooks, thinking of her own daughter. “Utilize your resources, your talents in a different way.”

Lt. Governor Rachel Hunt, who co-chairs the task force on child care and early education, said lawmakers must take seriously that the industry is an essential service facing a real crisis.

“We need every business, and every county commission, legislator, every branch of government to understand that and that moms and dads are not going to be able to go to work. And then we are not going to be the number one place for business,” Hunt said.

A recent study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation found that 35% of parents who experienced disruptions to their employment in 2024 reported leaving the workforce due to issues with child care.

The state task force is slated to issue a final report with recommendations to strengthen public and private investment in child care infrastructure by the end of this year.