This November, North Carolina voters will elect candidates to important public offices at the national, state, and local level. The winners of these elections will make public policy that will directly impact the future development and well-being of North Carolina’s young children, families, and early educators.
This election provides an opportunity for these policymakers to make bold progress for early education in North Carolina!
Every parent wants to give their child a strong start in life, but our policies have not kept up with the reality of parenting today and the challenges that families with young children face. The policymakers that voters elect this November must strengthen the state's early childhood system infrastructure and make sure that children and families have access to policies, programs, and budgets that support their healthy development, early learning, and future success in school and in life.
When we support our youngest children in having the opportunity to fulfill their potential, we create the best outcomes in health, education, and economic well-being for everyone in North Carolina. The stakes are high. Now is the time to build a better early childhood system, one that is centered in equity to ensure that all children have what they need to reach their full potential. Your vote matters. The children of North Carolina are counting on you to be their champion!
What's at Stake for Child Care in this Election?
Each child is born with unlimited potential. Today’s young children are our society’s next generation of parents, workers, and leaders. It is crucial that families have the tools they need to be able to work and support their children with safe and nurturing environments in their earliest years.
But right now, parents in every county are struggling to find and afford child care, often waiting months - or even years - on waiting lists and paying more than college tuition once they do get a spot. At the same time, child care teachers earn less than most retail, fast food, or service workers, leading to high turnover and instability for young children, families, and communities. Additionally, businesses in nearly every sector have identified child care as a critical factor in their workforce challenges.
Parents can’t afford to pay more, early educators can’t afford to make less, and our economy can’t thrive without a stable child care system.
The winners of this year's election have an opportunity - and an obligation - to ensure that North Carolina makes bold progress for our child care system, instead of allowing this crisis to become even worse.
Since 2021, Child Care Compensation Grants have provided higher wages and bonuses to more than 40,000 North Carolina early educators. Federal funding for this program has already expired, but state legislators passed $67.5 million this summer to extend the grants at a reduced rate through December of this year. While this was an extremely important short-term measure to keep North Carolina from going over the funding cliff, much more is still needed to stabilize and sustain our early education system.
Prior to the grants, the average wage for a child care teacher in North Carolina was just $12/hour. Returning to lower wages will result in a mass exodus of teachers who can earn more working in fast food, retail and similar industries. Child care programs can’t compete with other businesses unless they significantly raise costs for parents, as cutting staff is not an option. Without long-term solutions and an increased investment, the underlying issues facing the early education system will remain the same and will exacerbate an already precarious situation.
North Carolina has the resources right now to provide increased, sustained investments in our early education system so that child care programs across the state are there for all children and families – now and in the future. It is imperative that the policymakers who are elected this November understand the urgency of the child care crisis and how it impacts real children, families, early educators, businesses, and communities each and every day. Our state must prioritize investing in early education so that each and every child in North Carolina is ready to learn, grow, and succeed.
How are young children and families in North Carolina doing?
- North Carolina is home to nearly 600,000 young children birth to age 5. Nearly half of all babies born in our state are children of color.
- 41% of families with young children live in poverty or low-income households (at or below 200% FPL); Black and Hispanic children are twice as likely to live in poverty or low-income households than White children.
- 67% of children under age 6 live in households where all available parents are in the labor force.
- The average annual cost of one year of infant child care is nearly $10,000, which is more than the cost of a year of public college tuition. A low-income parent spends more than 1/3 of their total yearly income on child care.
- Every county in North Carolina is considered an infant and toddler child care desert, meaning there are five or more children for every one space available in a high-quality program.
- There are tens of thousands of young children on the waitlist for child care subsidy assistance and NC Pre-K, with only a fraction of eligible children age 0-5 receiving services.
- Even with the help of pandemic emergency relief through the Child Care Compensation Grants, child care teachers earn an average of $14/hour (prior to the grants, it was $12/hour).
- When families do not have the child care they need, parents’ work productivity falls, resulting in costs to parents, their employers, and, ultimately, taxpayers. The lack of reliable child care for working parents of young children costs our state $5.65 billion each year.
NC Early Childhood Policy Priorities
The NC Early Education Coalition supports critical policy priorities for early education, including:
- Child care stabilization, including workforce compensation, Child Care Subsidy Assistance for families, subsidy rate improvements, and more
- Funding for long-standing early childhood programs like Smart Start and NC Pre-K to support early learning, child health and family support services
- Implementation of the Leandro Plan
Who's on the Ballot in NC
The election this November offers voters a chance to select candidates to represent them at the national, state and local level. Here's a look at all of the offices on the ballot in North Carolina this year:
- President of the United States
- 14 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives
- Governor
- Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, State Superintendent, and other Council of State positions
- 50 seats in the NC Senate
- 120 seats in the NC House of Representatives
- Statewide Offices including
- State Supreme Court Justices and other Judges
- Dozens of Mayors, City Council seats, County Commissioners, School Board Members, and other local offices
Will these candidates speak up for young children? Click on the link below and enter your address to find out who’s running for office in your district and learn more about them. Then ask them if they will stand up for young children and families!
Key Election Dates and Information
This year's election will take place on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. Below are a few key things to know and do in order to make sure your vote counts for children in November.
Here are a few things you can do to prepare:
- Check to see if you are registered to vote
- Register to vote by mailing in your registration form
- Register to vote online through the NC DMV
- Request a mail-in/absentee ballot (All registered voters may request an absentee ballot for the November 2024 election; no special circumstance or reason is needed to receive and vote by mail-in absentee ballot)
- Look up your nearest early voting site
- Look up your polling location for election day
Key dates and information to remember:
- ALL VOTERS MUST SHOW A PHOTO ID. This is new for the 2024 election; please click here to learn more about the types of photo identification that will be accepted.
- Deadline to register to vote: October 11th
- Deadline to request a mail-in/absentee ballot: October 29th
- Same-day voter registration is only available at One-Stop Early Voting Sites; you can register and cast your ballot on the same day during the early voting period (You can NOT register and vote on the same day on Election Day, November 5th)
- Early voting period: Thursday, October 17th - Sunday, November 2nd
- Deadline to return a completed mail-in/absentee ballot: November 5th at 7:30pm (Your mail-in/absentee ballot must be received by your county board of elections by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day. State law previously provided for a grace period if your ballot was postmarked on or before Election Day and received within three days after the election; that is no longer the case.)
- ELECTION DAY: NOVEMBER 5th
There are many ways you can connect with candidates to learn more about their positions on the issues that matter most to you. Whether it's at a campaign event such as a town hall or candidate forum, on social media, or by email, your engagement makes a difference and can help inform them about the issues impacting young children and families. You can visit a candidate's website and social media profiles to learn more about them, find out when they're holding events, and get information about how to contact them.
When asking a candidate questions, be sure to give some context about the issue since they may not be aware of some of the details or specific challenges. It is also important to always ask open-ended questions to allow them to offer specifics on their plans and priorities instead of providing a simple yes or no answer.
Sample questions for candidates:
- The most rapid period of brain development happens in the first five years of life, laying the foundation for all future learning, health, and success in school and life. What are your views on the needs of young children (prenatal to age 5) and what steps would you take to address these needs?
- Every county in North Carolina is considered a "child care desert" with not enough supply to meet the demand. When parents do find child care, the average cost is nearly $10,000/year, which is higher than the cost of public college tuition. What steps would you take to ensure that families have access to high-quality and affordable early learning programs for their children?
- Currently, child care teachers in North Carolina earn an average of $14/hour, less than most retail or service workers. Since 2021, federally-funded Child Care Compensation Grants have provided higher wages and bonuses to more than 40,000 North Carolina early educators, but that funding has expired. This summer, the NC General Assembly appropriated funds to extend the grants for a short time, while also recognizing the need to explore long-term solutions to attract and retain a qualified early childhood workforce. What steps would you take to stabilize and sustain North Carolina's early education system and child care workforce as we approach the end of Compensation Grant funding?
- Working parents depend on child care, and businesses in nearly every sector have identified child care as a critical factor in their workforce challenges. A new study from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation found that insufficient child care is costing North Carolina about $5.65 billion each year. What are your views on how the issues facing our state's child care system impact the state's economy? What specific steps would you take to ensure that our child care system can keep up with the demand as more working families need child care in North Carolina?
- North Carolina currently spends approximately 1% of the annual state budget on early childhood programs, including Smart Start, NC Pre-K, and Child Care Subsidy Assistance. Nearly all early childhood programs in every county of the state have waiting lists and only serve a fraction of eligible children and families. What are your goals for overall early childhood funding and/or what types of early childhood programs would you support making an investment in at the state level?
Candidate Questionnaire
Want to know what your candidates in the 2024 election think about early childhood issues? Check out our Early Childhood Candidate Questionnaire to see what they had to say in their own words!
We distributed this questionnaire to candidates to ask them about their views on issues impacting young children and families and to hear what actions they would take if elected. We received responses from candidates representing all political parties and from candidates running for U.S. House of Representatives, NC Governor, NC Senate, NC House of Representatives, and other Council of State offices. Use the button below to view the responses, printed exactly as submitted, from all candidates who responded to the questionnaire before the deadline.
With so many lawmakers up for election in 2024, advocates in North Carolina have countless opportunities to educate candidates and turn them into champions who will make the needs of young children their priority. Once elected, these candidates will make important decisions that impact families and can help ensure that all children have what they need for a strong start in life. Advocates like you play a critical role in ensuring that all candidates have the information they need to make these decisions, and in elevating the discussion of these issues among all of the candidates, the media, and other voters.
There are many ways you can call on 2024 candidates to make young children and families a priority, including:
- Email candidates' campaigns to provide them with resources as they make decisions about policy priorities.
- Engage candidates directly by attending local events and asking questions at candidate forums.
- Post on social media to educate candidates and ask them where they stand on the policies and investments that young children and families need.
- Submit a letter to the editor to your state and/or local media outlet or write a blog or newsletter post highlighting the policies and investments needed for young children in your community.
- Share this toolkit and spread the word in your community. Call on your friends, family, and colleagues to join you in being an early childhood voter this year.
- VOTE!
Questions?
Please contact us! For more information about the NC Early Education Coalition, please visit our website.