Grant Our Kids Care Act.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S 1
SENATE BILL 593

Short Title: Grant Our Kids Care Act. (Public)
Sponsors: Senators Chaudhuri and Chitlik (Primary Sponsors).
Referred to: Rules and Operations of the Senate
March 26, 2025
*S593-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO APPROPRIAT E FUNDS TO ESTABLISH A PILOT PROGRAM THA T 2
PROVIDES CHILD CARE EXPANSION ASSISTANCE GRANTS FOR CHILD CA RE 3
PROVIDERS WHO ARE EM PLOYED FULL TIME BY A LICENSED CHILD CAR E 4
PROGRAM IN THE STATE. 5
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 6
SECTION 1. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of 7
Health and Human Services, Division of Child Development and Early Education (Division), the 8
sum of thirty million dollars ($30,000,000) in nonrecurring funds for each year of the 2025-2027 9
fiscal biennium. These funds shall be used to establish a two -year, statewide pilot program that 10
provides child care expansion assistance grants for child care providers providing direct care and 11
employed full time by any licensed child care program in th is State to assist in recruiting and 12
retaining employees necessary to expand the supply of licensed child care to additional children 13
from birth through five years of age by ensuring that unaffordable child care is not a barrier to 14
work for these employees. For purposes of this act, "child care provider" includes lead teachers, 15
teachers, teacher assistants, and administrators. 16
SECTION 2. A child care provider providing direct care who are eligible for a child 17
care expansion assistance grant pursuant to this section shall earn at or below eighty-five percent 18
(85%) of the State median income and be employed full time at a licensed child care center or 19
family child care home. For purposes of this act, "full time" means at least 32 hours per week. If 20
a licensed family child care home provider applies for a child care assistance grant for the 21
provider's own children, that provider must provide care for additional children in the provider's 22
program equal to the number of the provider's own children for which a chi ld care expansion 23
assistance grant is provided. 24
SECTION 3. Any licensed child care program may apply to the Division of Child 25
Development and Early Education (Division) for a child care expansion assistance grant for 26
eligible employees only when there is capacity at the program to serve an eligible employee's 27
child without displacing other children already in care in the program. When a child care 28
program's application for a child care expansion assistance grant is approved, the Division shall 29
pay seventy-five percent (75%) of the published child care tuition rates to the licensed program 30
for each eligible staff member for up to two children. Child care program employers shall cover 31
a minimum of twenty-five percent (25%) of the published tuition rate for ea ch child. Child care 32
expansion assistance grants may be distributed monthly or quarterly, at the Division's discretion, 33
so long as the eligible employee remains employed full time at the licensed child care program. 34
The program operator or administrator is responsible for informing the Division when an eligible 35
employee is no longer employed at the program. Failure to inform the Division of such departure 36
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 Senate Bill 593-First Edition
within 30 days of separation may result in the program being required to return distributed grant 1
funds for the eligible employee post-separation from employment. 2
SECTION 4. The Division of Child Development and Early Education (Division) 3
shall make the child care expansion assistance grants provided in accordance with the pilot 4
program available statewide in all counties. However, the Division shall prioritize counties with 5
the highest unmet demand or longest wait lists for subsidized child care funded by the federal 6
Child Care Assistance Program and shall work to ensure that child care expansion assistan ce 7
grants are distributed to geographically diverse areas across the State. A child care program 8
licensed in this State does not have to participate in the federal Child Care Assistance Program 9
to apply for a child care expansion assistance grant for eligible employees. 10
SECTION 5. The Division of Child Development and Early Education (Division) 11
shall submit a progress report to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human 12
Services and the Fiscal Research Division of the General Assembly b y March 31, 2026, with a 13
final report by December 31, 2027, on the pilot program that includes the following: 14
(1) The number of licensed child care programs participating in the pilot program, 15
by setting (center or family child care home) and county. 16
(2) The number of child care providers participating in the pilot program, by 17
position or title, hire date (newly employed versus already employed), and 18
county. 19
(3) The number of new licensed child care slots created as a result of the pilot, by 20
age group and county. 21
(4) The number of additional children ages birth to five years served as a result of 22
the pilot, by age group and county. 23
SECTION 6. This act becomes effective July 1, 2025. 24