Today Governor Stein, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, and the Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina announced the application window will open soon for $20 million to build and expand child care programs in communities impacted by Hurricane Helene and Tropical Storm Debby. This funding is part of a total $75 million federal grant for Helene- and Debby-impacted areas announced earlier this year through the American Relief Act’s Disaster Supplemental Funds for Child Care.
"Today marks a step forward in creating opportunity for children and restoring stability for families in areas hit the hardest by these devastating storms," said Governor Josh Stein. "This child care funding will open the doors to new centers to support families, the workforce, and local economies across western North Carolina and the Piedmont."
Selected awardees will support design and construction of new child care centers, or renovation of existing facilities to serve as child care centers, on NC Community College System (NCCCS) and University of North Carolina (UNC) System campuses in impacted counties. Applicants must be part of the UNC System or NCCCS in areas impacted by these storms. More than 230 child care facilities were impacted by Hurricane Helene, and more than 100 child care facilities were impacted by Tropical Storm Debby.
NCDHHS is seeking applications from institutions in the NCCCS and the UNC System that serve disaster-affected counties and are interested in renovating or establishing child care centers on government-owned (state or county) campus land through renovation and construction activities or purchase of modular units. Proposed projects must address community needs, as described in the Administration for Children and Families Program Instruction. Of the state’s 58 community colleges, 16 already have child care on campus, and about 10 of the 17 UNC System campuses have some form of child care on site.
"North Carolina relies on high-quality, affordable early child care to support children’s healthy development, enable parents to work, and keep businesses running," said NC Health and Human Services Secretary Dev Sangvai. "This investment to expand on-site child care to college campuses will reduce barriers for students, faculty, and the surrounding communities, allowing them to learn and work knowing their children are safe and receiving high-quality education and care."
In 2025, the Governor’s Task Force on Child Care and Early Education recommended exploring partnerships with the UNC System and NCCCS to increase access to child care for public employees and students. The Task Force recognizes that child care centers on higher education campuses can leverage underutilized public land, help student parents stay in school, attract faculty to the college, and serve as hands-on training hubs for future early childhood educators.
In addition to the $20 million going toward increasing child care on community college and university campuses in North Carolina, NCDHHS and the Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina (GROW NC) are partnering to ensure the full $75 million in federal funding is used to strengthen and expand child care capacity in disaster-impacted areas. This will include:
- Providing reimbursement or recovery funding to eligible child care providers,
- Exploring salary supplements in disaster-affected counties to support recruitment and retention of early childhood educators,
- Conducting disaster preparedness and response activities in 2027 for child care providers, and
- Supporting mental health resources for children, families and staff.
"Child care is essential economic infrastructure. When a center closes, parents can’t get back to work, employers can’t staff up, and a community’s recovery slows," said GROW NC Director Matt Calabria. "North Carolina presented a strong application detailing what providers had lost and identifying what the region will need to recover. That level of diligence, combined with the input and partnership of many child care providers, is why these dollars are here."
The public notice of this opportunity has been posted on the NCDHHS DCDEE website with the application period to apply for the $20 million in funding opening on Sept. 14, 2026. The application window closes at 5 p.m. on Nov. 2, 2026. A pre-application conference will be held Oct. 6, 2026, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. NCDHHS will make the award selections and notify successful applicants.
Additionally, affected child care operators who have not done so already are encouraged to submit damage reports in the NCDHHS Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE) Disaster Impact Report Portal. This tutorial describes how to submit damage reports. DHHS personnel will contact child care operators to offer technical assistance regarding updating and submitting damage impact reports and plan to begin awarding payments for eligible damages this fall on a rolling basis.