As the North Carolina state budget continues to make its way through the General Assembly, the proposals from the Governor, House, and Senate prioritize different early care and education programs with wide differences in recurring and non-recurring investments. Our partners at NC Child, Think Babies NC, and NC Policy Watch have reviewed the budget proposals to compare how funding is proposed to be allocated for young children and families. Both the Senate and the House budgets include funding for child care subsidy assistance from the American Rescue Plan (ARPA), funding for Smart Start to expand access statewide to high-quality early childhood education and a continuum of evidence-based services for young children and families.
- NC Child’s side-by-side comparison of the three budgets can be found here.
- A breakdown of the Think Babies Prenatal-to-age-three legislative policy priorities can be accessed here.
- NC Policy Watch’s budget recommendations for the Leandro Plan can be found here.