NC Child produces publications that document trends in child well-being and the impact of public policy decisions on children and families.
High-quality early childhood education is a foundational element of a thriving workforce and competitive economy. Yet across North Carolina, child care programs face persistent challenges that threaten both their stability and the state’s broader economic health.
This report details the challenges that prevent schools in North Carolina from meeting the rising mental health needs among students and offers policy recommendations to help improve access to school-based mental health services.
Child care providers across North Carolina are facing growing financial instability as they navigate the end of federal relief funding and increasing operational costs. This report explores how private child care programs, including center-based, family child care homes, and faith-based providers are working to sustain their programs amid rising tuition pressures, workforce shortages, and inadequate public funding.
The North Carolina Child Health Report Card, published biannually by the North Carolina Institute of Medicine and NC Child, tracks key indicators of child health and well-being in four areas:
Healthy Births
Access to Care
Secure Homes & Neighborhoods, and
Health Risk Factors
The report provides data on such health concerns and risk factors as teen births, infant mortality, poverty, and child deaths.
By speaking to parents, dental care professionals, public health officials, school district personnel, and community members we heard firsthand from those with lived experience providing care or trying to find it for their families.
A new report from N.C. Commerce and NC Child assesses the number of prime-age adults who could potentially participate in our labor market, the impact these new entrants would have on our state economy, and how child care solutions could enable this growth.
The U.S. Chamber Foundation, in partnership with the NC Chamber Foundation and NC Child, commissioned a survey of 517 North Carolina parents with children under the age of six. Survey results were then used to model an estimate of the direct financial impact of insufficient child care coverage on North Carolina’s economy.
North Carolina's child care landscape is struggling. Without taking the proper steps to ensure this critical industry is sustainable and set up for ling-term success, North Carolina's children, families, and economy will feel the impact of failure.
Child care access and affordability are a struggle for working families across North Carolina. Without an adequate workforce to provide care, children, families, and our local businesses will suffer the consequences.