RALEIGH – Gov. Josh Stein announced an $11.3 million expansion of the Child Care WAGE$ salary-supplement program over three years, adding or increasing support for early educators in 39 counties affected by Hurricane Helene.
In Ashe, Madison and Watauga counties, which the state says are not currently served by WAGE$, the funding will establish biannual supplements tied to individual eligibility. Applications are scheduled to open in November, with checks expected to become widely available by spring 2027 for eligible participants.
In 36 other Helene-affected counties that already offer WAGE$, the expansion will add an annual incentive estimated at $1,350 per participant. Those payments are expected to begin in January 2027.
WAGE$ provides education-based salary supplements to eligible early childhood teachers, directors and family child care providers who work with children from birth through age 5. The program is administered in partnership with Early Years Inc., which published the participating-county list and separate application resources for the Helene expansion.
The state said the $11.3 million comes from a $75 million federal award through the American Relief Act’s Disaster Supplemental Funds for Child Care. NCDHHS and the Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina identified workforce stabilization as one of four uses for that broader award.
The salary supplements are separate from reimbursements for child care facilities that reported storm-related losses. NC Local reported in September that none of the facility reimbursements had been distributed at that point, despite 54 completed reports seeking about $5.7 million. NCDHHS said Thursday that reimbursements began Oct. 30 and will continue on a rolling basis.
The new WAGE$ funding does not automatically raise every child care worker’s base pay or guarantee that every worker in the 39 counties will receive a supplement. The three new counties will apply individual eligibility requirements, while the additional incentives in the other counties are tied to existing WAGE$ participation.
Sources
- NCDHHS: Nov. 5 WAGE$ expansion announcement
- Early Years: Helene expansion program details and participating counties
- NC Local: Sept. 24 reporting on the federal award and delayed facility reimbursements
Photo Credit: File photograph of a child care provider with young children during family-style meal service, by USDAgov via Wikimedia Commons; public-domain work of the U.S. federal government. Cropped and resized. Context image, not a North Carolina classroom or a Hurricane Helene recovery event. NCPN logo is a separate brand mark.
Editor’s Note: This article was drafted with the assistance of artificial intelligence and was reviewed and fact-checked by a member of the NC Political News editorial team before publication.