(Carolina Journal) – Expansion of the early childhood workforce and strengthening provider support to address the root causes of a childcare shortage is advancing in the North Carolina General Assembly.
Child Care Initiative Funds/Reform/Study, known also as House Bill 1086, would allocate approximately $17 million to support workforce training, mental and behavioral health services, and regulatory changes for childcare providers.
State Rep. Dean Arp, R-Union, one of the bill’s primary sponsors, said the legislation is the “result of a lot of stakeholders working on a critical and incredibly important area of childcare.”
“This is a continuing work that we’ve undertaken to help make the childcare situation better,” Arp said. “This bill has been supported by the childcare business centers and owners, the YMCA, the North Carolina Chamber, the community colleges, and the North Carolina Partnership for Children and Smart Start. So we’ve got a good bill here.”
Reps. Donny Lambeth, R-Forsyth, Erin Paré, R-Wake, and Heather Rhyne, R-Lincoln, are sponsoring the bill with Arp. There’s a long list of Republican and Democratic cosponsors.
The bill received a favorable committee substitute Tuesday of last week and was rereferred to the Appropriations Committee in the House of Representatives.
The measure comes as North Carolina continues to grapple with child care shortages, high family costs, and staffing challenges for providers.
A February 2025 NC Chamber Foundation report estimated that insufficient child care availability costs North Carolina $5.65 billion in lost economic activity each year. This includes $1.36 billion in lost tax revenue, $2.68 billion in employee turnover costs, and $1.61 billion in absenteeism costs.
“As a mother who relied on child care for a decade, this is critical,” said Rep. Tracy Clark, D-Mecklenburg, during committee discussion. “We have a childcare crisis, and I applaud all bill sponsors for this work.”
