By WRAL Staff

More North Carolinians would train for free to become child care teachers under a bill advancing in the North Carolina House — an effort aimed at boosting access to child care in the state.

House Bill 389 seeks to expand a pilot program already underway in Johnston and Wayne counties, where community colleges train 10 to 15 people, up to three times per year, to work as child care teachers. Lawmakers want to expand the program to other parts of the state.

The state House of Representatives’ health committee passed the bill out of the committee Tuesday after little discussion.

The training would be free for the students, and it would lead to earning a North Carolina Early Childhood Credential, allowing them to become lead teachers at a child care facility. Training would last up to eight hours per day over two to three weeks. Students would receive $150 stipends during their training and another $500 one-time stipend after completing a full year of working as a lead teacher at a licensed child care facility in North Carolina.

The program would cost the state an estimated $738,000 over the next two years. The expansion would not happen unless the state’s upcoming budget funds it for at least one year — an amendment made just before Tuesday’s vote to ensure the program wouldn’t expand without funding.

Currently, earning the credential requires students to take a four-hour course that’s offered at all of the state’s 58 public community colleges, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

North Carolina, like many other states, has been struggling with affordable and available child care, as well as hiring child care workers.

Pay is a chief challenge with attracting child care workers, who typically earn just more than $17,000 per year and, on average, earn about $28,000 per year, according to Wake Tech Community College.

Child care administrators can earn more, starting at about $34,000 per year and averaging about $52,000 per year. To become an administrator, a person must take at least another four courses.

A loss in federal assistance last year has made it difficult for some child care programs to survive. At least 100 child care facilities in North Carolina have closed since late 2023.

The preceding article originally appeared on March 31, 2025 at WRAL’s website and is made available here for educational purposes only. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 106A-117 of the U.S. Copyright Law. Any views or opinions expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Carolina Leadership Coalition.