We know from parents that child care is the glue that helps families hold it together. Knowing that their children are safe, cared for, and learning makes it possible for parents to work, go to school, and ensure their family’s needs are being met. Without it, parents can’t keep food on the table, pay the rent, or build for their children’s future. 

But we also know how incredibly difficult it can be to find and afford child care in North Carolina right now. Our state is facing a child care crisis with over 200 child care programs closing since January [1] (!) and many more are closing classrooms. Unfortunately, it’s likely to get worse since state lawmakers just went home without passing any relief to help child care programs stay open. 

These are scary and hard times for NC families. While we work together to solve the child care crisis, we are grateful that our partners at Child Care Resources Inc. just launched a new tool to make it easier for families struggling to find child care. 

Find Child Care NC is a FREE one-stop resource for North Carolina families. You can search by 19 different filters to find the programs that work for you! Just plug in your search criteria (star rating, transportation availability, ZIP code, etc.) and find licensed care that fits your schedule and budget.

Find Child Care NC brings together every licensed program in the state—including family child care homes, child care centers, Pre-K, and school-age programs—into one easy-to-use platform that works on your phone. It includes real-time vacancy information directly from providers. Families can also filter by the details that matter most, such as pricing, hours of operation, quality ratings, program schedules, and services for children with special needs. 

Check it out at Find Child Care NC and help spread the word to other families looking for child care. It’s quick, easy, and FREE!

While tools like this are awesome, we also desperately need long-term solutions that keep child care programs open, so parents aren’t struggling to access care. 

Our state and federal lawmakers need to hear what it means for a family – or an entire community – to lose access to child care. Can you take a few minutes to share your story about what child care means to your family? We’ll share it directly with lawmakers. 

Stories are incredibly powerful. They can move decisionmakers in ways that numbers alone simply cannot.  

We must make sure lawmakers are hearing the stories of families like yours and like Erin’s, who recently shared her experience when her children’s child care program, the only one on Hatteras Island, announced it was closing [2]: 

I fear what that will mean, not just for my family but for our whole community. I’m not sure most people understand the domino effect closing a child care center can cause. If local business owners need to scale back their businesses because of a lack of child care, their employees could lose their jobs. On the flip side, local businesses could lose talented employees who also have young children. If parents can’t work, many families will struggle to put food on the table in this already difficult economy.  

Just a few sentences can put a face on our state’s child care crisis and help move lawmakers to save our state’s child care system. Will you please join Erin in sharing your story today? It can make a big difference. 

These are not easy times, and North Carolina families are coming together to help support one other. Don’t forget to take two steps to help NC families facing the child care crisis today:

1)    Check out Find Child Care NC and share it with other families looking for child care. We know parents look to one another to find helpful resources, and this one is free and comes from a trusted partner.

2)    Don’t forget to share what child care means to your family and help urge NC lawmakers to urgently invest in child care. 

Together we can help ensure North Carolina’s children are cared for and thriving today and tomorrow!

[1] NC Early Care and Learning Dashboard. 

[2] "What happens when a community loses its only licensed chid care program," Erin Thomas Trant, EdNC, October 2, 2025