Elizabeth Byrum, senior policy analyst of early childhood education with NC Child, addressed a crowd at the Highlands Community Building with concerns about early childcare.
Byrum spoke about the state of childcare in North Carolina but also in Macon County and across Western North Carolina. As a state, North Carolina has its struggles with childcare, but Byrum hopes NC can be on the right path.
Byrum said North Carolina has over 700,000 children ages birth to five, making up almost a third of the child population. It is crucial to invest in these children early through education, advocacy, and increasing quality of life.
Early education is more than just awareness. Byrum described it as the foundation of children’s lives. It can boost IQ, social and emotional skills, and help prepare children for the future.
“Children who receive high quality child-care experience go on to find success in grade school, they score higher in reading and math tests, they graduate on time, they earn higher wages, they are actually healthier physically and mentally, and they’re able to raise stronger families,” Byrum said.
This early childcare investment can benefit all parties.
“Childcare allows parents and caregivers to be employed… to support their family. Research indicates that reliable access to childcare can generate an additional $79,000 in lifetime earnings for mothers in particular,” she said.
However, lack of childcare impacts working families, with roughly 60% of parents in North Carolina reported having to miss work due to childcare issues, according to Byrum.
This lack of childcare can prevent businesses from operating in North Carolina. It can be difficult for a new business to operate with a young workforce if members of that workforce are tied down with children and prevented from working due to childcare restraints.
Byrum addressed several ways to help early childhood investment. For instance, she mentioned the “Tri-Share” childcare model which she said NC is interested in borrowing from Michigan. The Tri-Share model splits childcare costs three ways - between the family, employers, and the government. One such business which is helping its employees invest in childcare includes Old Edwards Hospitality Group, which offers a child subsidy to a certain dollar amount for families to choose their childcare facility. They also invest in other childcare facilities to help people work.
Further, investing in teachers’ salaries can help with retention in that field, keeping qualified workers and preventing an exodus as childcare providers leave and instead turn to fields like food service out of financial necessity.
“Our childcare workforce is some of the most qualified and hardest working folks in our state. They are not treated that way, particularly when it comes to compensation,” Byrum said.
Other such investments include pushes from NC Child to expand access to childcare subsidies which reimburse businesses and families for childcare expenses. Middle-income families may not technically qualify for existing subsidies, even though Byrum stated that many of these families have to choose between quality childcare and basic necessities of the family. Additionally, childcare providers may be steered away from subsidies due to a lack of reimbursement, causing many to operate at a loss of revenue. A goal of NC Child is to have a state-wide rate for subsidies, whereas currently some counties, Macon included, may receive lower subsidies than other counties. Byrum said Macon County’s subsidy is about three to four hundred dollars lower than in other counties.
Investments in childcare has been lacking in part due to NC state budget constrictions. NC has yet to approve a budget for the upcoming biennial fiscal years. The biennial fiscal period is due to start July 1. Byrum said there are hopes that the budget will be approved by the end of July. NC Child wants to set the budget for investment in North Carolina’s children at $1 billion dollars, a rate Byrum said is just around 1% of the state’s budget.
NC Child is a 501(c)3 organization that focuses on better equipping children with success. To this end, NC Child focuses on high quality early education, healthy children, nurturing homes and environments, and family economic security. The organization has been around since 1983.