N.C. Rep. Frank Sossamon is hosting forums to discuss the topic of child care in the area – choices, challenges and access to licensed child care facilities for working families. Featured speaker at the forums is Ariel Ford, director of Child Development and Early Education at the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
The first forum will be held Tuesday, Apr. 30 at Perry Memorial Library in Henderson; the second forum will be held Thursday, May 23 at The Grand at Oxford Days Inn & Suites, 913 Martin Luther King Jr., Ave., Oxford.
The public is invited to attend the forum at 6 p.m.; there will be a session earlier – 1 p.m. – for individuals interested in opening a child care site. According to information from Sossamon’s office, North Carolina is considered a child care “desert” when it comes to infant/toddler care, with a statewide average of five families with babies competing for every available slot in licensed child care facilities.
The events seek to raise awareness to the child care crisis in the state and the need for more child care opportunities in North Carolina which support children’s healthy development and learning, allow parents to work and keep businesses running.
Last year, 278 child care facilities closed across the state and the demand for child care far surpasses the supply. A recent survey of North Carolina child care programs from the National Association for the Education of Young Children shows 60 percent of facilities are reporting a staffing shortage and 55 percent are under-enrolled due to the lack of staff. Rural counties in North Carolina are disproportionately impacted.
The child care forums are hosted by Representative Frank Sossamon. NCDHHS. Smart Start, Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce, Granville County Chamber of Commerce, Childcare Services Association, local child care centers and others participating.