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Early childhood education provides significant benefits for children’s development and allows families to work or pursue higher education, but North Carolina’s ECE field faces major challenges including low wages for providers who earn far below living wages. Over 3,800 licensed ECE centers and about 1,200 Family Child Care homes serve approximately 185,000 children under five across the state. The COVID-19 pandemic further amplified these existing issues, leading to widespread program closures, reduced child participation in ECE programs, and decreased family engagement in learning activities during 2020.
