Charlotte’s child care crisis won’t solve itself. This is what experts propose.
No one we spoke with about Charlotte’s child care crunch suggested there was a single solution. But child care advocates, workers and economists largely agreed on one thing: The current system asks too much of parents and too little of everyone else.
Here are some of the ideas they believe could make the biggest difference.
Invest more public money
Unlike K-12 education, most child care centers rely heavily on parent tuition to cover their costs. But the cost of providing quality care — especially for infants and toddlers, where staffing requirements are highest — often exceeds what families can realistically afford to pay.
Advocates say public investment helps bridge that gap by helping providers remain financially stable, expand access and reduce pressure to raise tuition while also creating resources to better support and retain workers.
Elsewhere, policymakers have taken different approaches. In 2022, voters in New Orleans approved a property tax dedicated to early childhood education that is expected to generate about $21 million annually for infant and toddler care and related programs. Meanwhile, New Mexico last year dramatically expanded public funding for child care assistance, becoming the first state to offer no-cost child care regardless of income.
Treat early educators like professionals (and pay them better)
Advocates say solving the child care crisis isn’t only about creating more slots. It’s also about keeping experienced teachers in the profession.
Many child care workers are responsible for children’s safety, learning and development while managing extensive training requirements, heavy documentation burdens and large classroom demands. Yet those same workers also face high stress, limited opportunities for advancement and few resources to help prevent burnout.
They also earn little more than entry-level workers in retail or fast food.
The challenge, advocates say, is finding ways to raise wages without simply passing the cost on to parents. But they point to several approaches, including expanding North Carolina’s Child Care WAGE$ program, which provides salary supplements directly to teachers; increasing state reimbursement rates to better reflect the true cost of care; creating local workforce grants; and developing public-private partnerships that allow businesses to help support the child care workforce.
The goal, advocates say, is to treat early educators less like babysitters and more like the professionals they already are.
Get employers involved
Employer involvement doesn’t have to mean building a daycare center.
Some large employers in Charlotte already offer benefits such as backup child care and flexible work arrangements, but advocates argue businesses could play an even larger role by helping expand access to child care itself through subsidies, partnerships or direct investments in local providers.
Accept that this is an economic issue, not just a parenting issue.
When child care becomes too expensive or difficult to find, some parents turn down job-advancement opportunities, reduce their hours or leave the workforce entirely. Some employers experience higher turnover, more absenteeism and a smaller pool of available workers. Ultimately, some communities lose economic activity and tax revenue.
That’s one reason advocates and economists argue that child care should be viewed as essential economic infrastructure and incorporated into long-term planning decisions, much like roads, schools or utilities. Investments in early childhood education, they argue, can pay dividends far beyond the classroom through improved school readiness, stronger workforce participation and long-term economic benefits.
In short, the child care crisis is a workforce problem, it’s a growth problem, and it’s an economic problem.
The question, experts say, is whether Charlotte and North Carolina are willing to treat it as such.
