Gov. Josh Stein on Monday announced a new task force to address what his administration calls a child care crisis in North Carolina.
Speaking at the child care center Kate’s Korner in Durham, Stein promised to call for greater investment in the state’s child care industry in his upcoming budget proposal. He also named Democratic Lt. Gov. Rachel Hunt and Republican State Senator Jim Burgin of Harnett County to co-chair a task force to bring together stakeholders from business and early education to study solutions.
At the press conference, Stein’s administration shared six statistics that underscore why the governor is calling the current state of child care a “crisis.”
WUNC’s education reporter Liz Schlemmer fact checked the claims:
Stein: “Right now, we have only one child care slot for every five families that need one.”
This checks out. It comes from annual reports from the North Carolina Early Education Coalition, which estimate that on average, five families compete for every available infant or toddler slot at a licensed child care provider in North Carolina.
Stein: “The average cost of infant care in North Carolina is $12,000. That is more than the UNC tuition.”
This also checks out. In-state tuition at UNC-Chapel Hill — assuming that’s the UNC institution that Stein meant — is $7,020 annually for undergraduate students living on campus.
Based on this report from the NC Department of Commerce and co-authored by NC Child, the average annual cost of center-based care for one infant in North Carolina is nearly $13,000. That report is the basis for the rest of the statistics cited during Stein’s press conference.
Stein: “Economists say that child care should cost only 7% of your family’s income, but four in five families have to pay higher than that.”
This mostly checks out. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has set a benchmark for affordable childcare at 7% of a family’s income for a married couple. That’s the rate the federal government uses to establish co-payments for low-income families who receive subsidies through the Child Care and Development Block Grant.
The average cost of infant care at a child care center is about 11.6% of the median income for a two-parent household in North Carolina, according to a report by the NC Department of Commerce. The Economic Policy Institute reports only about 20% of North Carolina families can afford infant care at the 7% benchmark rate.
We’re rating this as mostly checks out, because the 7% benchmark is specifically set for low-income families, and The Economic Policy Institute’s statistic is based on infant care, which is the most expensive type of child care. Out-of-pocket costs for parents typically go down as their child grows, because a toddler can be served in rooms with more children per caregiver than an infant.
Lt. Gov. Rachel Hunt: “32% of parents with young children are putting their careers or education on hold because they can’t find affordable child care, and 60% of parents have had to miss work entirely due to child care issues.”
This checks out. These statistics come from a 2023 survey commissioned by the NC Chamber Foundation. Find more information about the survey here.
Sec. of Commerce Lee Lilley: “Over 31,000 working age parents of young children were unable to participate in the workforce in 2023 due to lack of affordable and accessible child care.”
This mostly checks out. It’s a high estimate, so it would be more accurate to say “up to 31,000.” In an October 2024 report, the NC Department of Commerce and NC Child estimated that between 14,500 and 31,067 prime working age adults might return to the workforce if given access to affordable child care.
Lilley: “If those parents had been able to re-enter the workforce, they could have added $7.5 billion to North Carolina’s gross domestic product.”
This also mostly checks out. This estimate of the impact on gross domestic product is based on the NC Department of Commerce’s “high estimate scenario” that up to 31,000 prime working age adults with young children would enter the workforce if they had access to affordable child care.
