Federal Aid To North Carolina Child Care To End In June

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid for child care centers across North Carolina will end in one month, leaving hundreds of those centers at the risk of closing.

Congress did not renew the funding, which runs out June 30th.

Democratic lawmakers say the state has the money to fund the gap as part of a new state budget, which begins on July 1st. But they fear the Republican-led legislature isn’t taking the problem seriously enough.

“The wise course would be not to fund the vouchers and to take that money, as much as possible, and pour it into child care,” Democratic North Carolina Senator Dan Blue said.

Some Republican leaders have acknowledged the child care funding issues and have said it might be included in budget negotiations.