Moore County childcare crisis exposed: Only 59% pre-K access, high costs threaten families and workforce

The Aug. 6 Moore Chamber of Commerce’s Community Conversation on Childcare, Workforce and The Economy revealed a childcare crisis. According to the census, Moore County was ranked lowest in North Carolina for pre-kindergarten availability at 59%. Pre-K is the most vulnerable age group.

Sandhills Community College (SCC) hosted the gathering of approximately fifty adults and a couple of children in Foundation Hall.

Moore County was a retirement community twenty years ago, and it seems like a retirement community mindset lingers because leaders have not worked with legislators to bring childcare stipends up to date with growing needs, leaving hundreds of children without childcare.

Top that problem with what a policy advisor in the audience said about how legislators perceive childcare, “They see it as a women’s problem. They don’t take it seriously.”

Moore County is considered a wealthy county.

The Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) is the main federal funding source for affordable childcare for low-income families, with $12.35 billion allocated for FY 2024-2025. It includes both mandatory and discretionary parts and grants receiving $8.75 billion and Child Care Entitlement to States at $3.5 billion. County governments administer CCDF in at least eight states, including North Carolina, representing $2.2 billion in federal expenditures and playing a key role in setting eligibility policies, processing payments, and connecting families to care. A final rule issued in March 2024 capped family co-pays at 7% of income and encouraged streamlined enrollment, but without additional federal funding, some children do not receive licensed childcare.

Federal funding has not helped all Moore County children under age six receive educational training for academic preparedness required for future success in learning and thriving as adults because not all families can afford licensed childcare, and there are no available slots.

This fact makes the “Leave No Child Behind” Moore County educational mantra moan.

The lack of childcare impacts real estate in relocation decisions, tourism for families seeking temporary care and the future of Moore County’s ranking as a desirable county to live and work.

Moore County Chamber President and CEO Linda Parsons highlighted the data that 70% of Moore County children under age six live in homes where both parents work and the average cost of annual childcare is $13,533.

In 2020, the Chamber formed the Childcare Task Force, and meets twice a year.

Parsons said there are approximately 6,200 children under age five in Moore County, of which 4,600 need childcare, and there are only 2,839 licensed childcare slots and 45 licensed facilities.

The Community Conversation demonstrated a cycle of educated and wealthy families thriving while those living in poverty continued to struggle.

Audience member Maria Donnelly said she earns twice what her husband earns, and they pay $55,000 annually for an au pair to care for her children because licensed facilities do not have openings.

For someone earning $15 an hour and working full time, their estimated monthly pay is about $2,208. A modest budget may include $900 for rent, $600 for childcare, $300 for a car payment, $100 for auto insurance, and $300 for groceries. With utilities, internet, and miscellaneous costs adding another $250, the total monthly expenses would come to approximately $2,450, exceeding the individual’s income by about $242. This budget highlights how difficult it is to meet basic needs on $15 an hour, especially for working parents. Without access to subsidized childcare or housing assistance, many are forced to rely on unlicensed care, delay bill payments or go without essential services.

Children without evidence-based learning from infancy to age five are at the highest risk of being left behind and becoming a liability for the community as adults.

For every single dollar invested in evidence-based early education, there is a 7% to 13% return. Children who enter kindergarten prepared to learn in academic settings score better in reading and math, are less likely to repeat grades, are less likely to need academic assistance and less likely to face incarceration or teen births.

The most vulnerable children live in poverty, and in Moore County, that area is West Southern Pines.

Partners for Children and Families President and CEO Stuart Mills said they are working with West Southern Pines to open childcare facilities for children in low-wealth families.

Some parents said they pay $150 for registering on a licensed childcare facility’s waitlist and wait up to a year or more for their ideal facility. In the meantime, they use friends, family and unlicensed care providers outside of friends and family.

Childcare facility owners said retaining quality employees was a problem because they could not compensate them as much as they deserved. Those who did remain on staff, stayed out of loyalty and care for children.

Childcare-related employee turnover and absenteeism cost North Carolina employers an estimated $4.29 billion annually.

According to Family Forward data, more than 23 million women have left the workforce since Feb. 2020, accounting for 80% of all discouraged workers during the pandemic, reducing the labor force rate to 57%, the lowest since 1988.

Tri-Share and Family Forward offer childcare assistance within companies and communities.

Virtokids is a drop-off childcare facility in Southern Pines for children aged 2.5+. It fill gaps in regular care and when parents need part-time care.

MOCO Mom offers a newsletter with childcare listings and playgroups.

Ideas generated from the Community Conversation include job sharing where parents exchange childcare, a childcare coop and asking employers to open childcare facilities.

Sandhills Community College supports childcare initiatives with a planned small business course in the fall and a new program, Early Care Academy, beginning in Oct. 2025.

Child First assists with healing children and families from the effects of trauma and adversity. Contact Maggie Mishra at mmishra@coastalhorizons.org or 910-622-4348.

Consider speaking to your commissioners, congressional representatives and business leaders on ways they can change Moore County’s childcare desert into a field of flowers for a successful future.

Aug. 7, 2025

Stephanie M. Sellers