Lt. Gov. Rachel Hunt is planning a tour of child care programs across the state as she serves as a co-chair of Gov. Josh Stein’s bipartisan child care task force, announced this month.
“I am very hopeful that we can get actual progress and movement on this issue, because that’s what North Carolinians need and want from us,” Hunt said in an interview with EdNC.
Hunt will chair the task force along with Sen. Jim Burgin, R-Harnett. Stein announced the full list of members on Friday after mentioning families’ need for high-quality, affordable care in his State of the State address Wednesday. Child care has risen as one of legislators’ top issues this session as providers and businesses sound the alarm on the industry’s fragility.
More on child care this legislative session
“Access to high-quality child care ensures that North Carolina’s children can learn and thrive during their formative years, which shapes their educational trajectory,” Stein said in a press release. “Child care should be affordable and accessible. I am proud to bring together providers, legislators, business leaders, parents, community partners, and industry experts to figure out how we can best support North Carolina’s parents, early childhood educators, and the economy.”
The task force will release an interim report in June and a larger one by the end of the year, Stein said.
The full list of members:
- Lt. Gov. Rachel Hunt (co-chair).
- Sen. Jim Burgin, R-Harnett (co-chair).
- Sen. Jay Chaudhuri, D-Wake.
- Sen. Ralph Hise, R-Alleghany.
- Rep. Sarah Crawford, D-Wake.
- Rep. David Willis, R-Union, owner and operator of Kiddie Academy, a child care program in Charlotte.
- Mary Elizabeth Wilson, chief of staff and general counsel at the state Department of Commerce.
- Candace Witherspoon, director of the Division of Child Development and Early Education at the state Department of Health and Human Services.
- Noelle Talley, deputy secretary for advocacy at the Department of Administration.
- Amar Majmundar, policy director at the Office of State Human Resources.
- Amy Rhyne, senior director of the Office of Early Learning at the Department of Public Instruction.
- Mary Olvera, state director of teacher education, public services, and Perkins special populations at the Community College System Office.
- Rhonda Rivers, chair of the Child Care Commission, president of the executive board at the North Carolina Early Education Coalition, and managing partner/co-owner of LeafSpring Schools of North Carolina.
- Gary Salamido, president and CEO of the NC Chamber of Commerce.
- Amy Cubbage, president of the North Carolina Partnership for Children.
- Lori Jones-Ruff, interim executive director of the Southwestern Child Development Commission Inc.
- Dan Rockaway, president of the NC Licensed Child Care Association, and co-founder and owner of Sounds and Colors Child Care Centers.
- Ellen Pancoast, vice president of people operations at Cone Health.
- Michelle Logan, vice president of the North America Drug Product Division North America at Thermo Fisher.
- Ashton Clemmons, associate vice president of P12 strategy and policy at the University of North Carolina System.
- Beth Messersmith, NC senior director of MomsRising, member of the Child Care Commission, and parent who has navigated the child care system.
- Erica Palmer Smith, executive director of NC Child.
- Theresa Roedershimer, executive director of the North Carolina Early Childhood Foundation.
- Meka Sales, director of special Initiatives at The Duke Endowment and co-chair of Invest Early NC.
- Susan Gale Perry, CEO of Child Care Aware of America.
“Tackling the child care crisis” is listed as one of Hunt’s three policy priorities on her website. It specifically mentions two strategies: expanding Tri-Share, a pilot that splits the cost of child care between participating businesses, eligible employees, and state government; and expanding on-site child care programs at community colleges.
Hunt will also be touring all 58 community colleges, looking to expand programs that increase workforce development. As lieutenant governor, Hunt sits on both the State Board of Community Colleges and the State Board of Education.
“Whatever these schools need, I want to be able to say I’ve been there, I’ve seen what they need,” Hunt said. “They’ve told me that they’re having to write grants. We know we need extra funding from the legislature. I just want to be the person that has the first hand knowledge of the community colleges.”
She’s visited Brunswick Community College and Guilford Tech Community College so far, learning about their nursing and manufacturing programs, among other efforts.
Hunt said she is looking for ways to improve colleges’ ability to prepare students with the skills businesses want — as well as child care programs’ ability to meet families’ needs.
“That intersection is essential for us to be able to be very successful economically,” she said.
More on community colleges and child care
Hunt said she is hoping to learn what is and isn’t working about various child care models, including programs on the campuses of community colleges and individual businesses.
“Anything that we have that’s working now, we need to expand it to other places in North Carolina, and if it’s not working, we need to understand why,” Hunt said. “We just need to gain more knowledge. I’m extremely interested in listening to people that are experts in this field, that have worked in it for years, because they’re the ones who really know. I think the task force is going to be great for that.”
