North Carolina opens $20 million child care recovery funding round
Eligible public colleges and universities in disaster-affected counties may apply to construct, renovate or install child care facilities on government-owned campus property.
RALEIGH — North Carolina will open applications Sept. 14 for $20 million in federal disaster-recovery funding to build or expand child care facilities on public college and university campuses in communities affected by Hurricane Helene and Tropical Storm Debby.
The competitive funding will be administered by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services in partnership with the Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina.
Eligible applicants are institutions in the University of North Carolina System or N.C. Community College System that serve disaster-affected counties. Proposed facilities must be located on state- or county-owned campus property.
The money may be used to design and construct child care centers, renovate existing facilities or purchase modular units, according to the Governor’s Office. Proposed projects must demonstrate a community need and comply with the federal grant’s requirements.
Applications are due by 5 p.m. Nov. 2. A pre-application conference is scheduled for Oct. 6.
The $20 million funding round is part of a $75 million federal grant awarded to North Carolina through the American Relief Act’s Disaster Supplemental Funds for Child Care. The state reported that more than 230 child care facilities were affected by Helene and more than 100 were affected by Debby.
State officials said 16 of North Carolina’s 58 community colleges currently offer on-campus child care. About 10 of the 17 UNC System campuses have some form of child care available on site.
The remainder of the federal award is expected to support other recovery efforts, including reimbursement for eligible child care providers, possible salary supplements in disaster-affected counties, disaster preparedness work and mental health resources.
The use of public college campuses follows a 2025 recommendation from the Governor’s Task Force on Child Care and Early Education. The task force recommended exploring partnerships with the two higher-education systems to increase access for students and public employees.
NCDHHS will evaluate the applications and select recipients. Separately, affected child care operators may submit damage reports through the department’s Disaster Impact Report Portal for consideration under other portions of the recovery program.
Editor’s note:
This article was drafted with the assistance of artificial intelligence and was reviewed and fact-checked by a member of the NC Political News editorial team before publication.
