Running a home daycare in North Carolina often begins with a simple idea. Someone loves caring for children, opens their home to a few families in the neighborhood, and before long it becomes a small business that helps working parents every day. In recent years, state leaders and childcare advocates have started putting more attention on making sure those small programs have access to funding that helps them grow.
Across North Carolina, grants and public funding programs are quietly helping home-based childcare providers improve their spaces, expand capacity, and sometimes even open their doors for the first time.
Funding to Start or Expand a Home Daycare
One of the most talked about funding opportunities for childcare providers in the state has been the Early Care and Learning Expansion and Access Grant program. The program was created through state funding approved in 2021 and managed by the North Carolina Division of Child Development and Early Education in Raleigh.
The state set aside about $20 million for these grants to help childcare programs grow in areas where families struggle to find care. The funding has supported both childcare centers and family childcare homes. Providers could receive grants of up to $125,000 to help with startup costs, renovations, or expanding their childcare capacity.
Many of these projects are still being completed, and providers have until September 30, 2026 to spend the funds they received.
For some home providers, that money meant adding a safer outdoor play area or converting a basement into a licensed childcare space. For others it helped them purchase cribs, safety gates, learning materials, and furniture needed to meet licensing standards.
A licensing consultant in Wake County explained the impact during a provider meeting in Raleigh last spring. “For family childcare homes, startup costs can stop people before they even begin,” she said. “These grants give providers the chance to create safe spaces for children without taking on huge personal debt.”
Support for Family Childcare Networks
Another important source of funding comes through the federal Preschool Development Grant program. North Carolina has received tens of millions of dollars through this initiative to strengthen the state’s early childhood system and support the childcare workforce.
Part of this funding has been used specifically to strengthen the network of family childcare homes across the state.
In February 2023, officials from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced that several million dollars from the grant would go toward improving resources for home-based providers.
Susan Gale Perry, who was serving as Chief Deputy Secretary for Opportunity and Well-Being at the time, described the reasoning behind the investment.
“When we invest in high-quality early care and learning, we support young children’s healthy development and school success, make it possible for families to go to work, and strengthen our state’s economy,” Perry said during the announcement in Raleigh.
The funding has helped provide training, curriculum resources, and business support tools for family childcare homes throughout North Carolina.
Small Grants for New Providers
Alongside the larger state programs, smaller grant initiatives are also helping new home daycare businesses get started.
In April 2024 the North Carolina Statewide Family Child Care Project, based in Webster in Jackson County, launched a round of startup and business toolkit grants designed specifically for family childcare providers.
The program focused on helping providers cover basic business costs such as equipment, licensing preparation, and materials needed to create safe childcare environments. Staff members with the project worked directly with applicants, sometimes visiting homes and helping providers prepare their grant proposals.
A program coordinator explained the goal during an information session that spring.
“We want family childcare businesses to be sustainable,” she said. “These grants are meant to give providers the tools they need so they can focus on what they do best, caring for children.”
Why These Grants Matter
For families across North Carolina, home-based childcare programs are often the most flexible and personal option available. They are especially important in rural communities and growing suburbs where large childcare centers may not exist.
Funding programs are starting to recognize that reality.
When grants help a provider open a family childcare home in a neighborhood, it often means several local families suddenly have access to reliable childcare within walking distance. Parents can work, children receive early learning experiences, and the provider earns a stable income.
As one provider from Johnston County put it during a training workshop in Smithfield last year, “A small grant can change everything. It can turn an idea into a licensed childcare home.”
Looking Ahead
North Carolina still faces challenges in making childcare widely available, but the growing attention on funding for home-based programs is a hopeful sign.
Behind the scenes, grants and workforce investments are helping dozens of family childcare providers expand their businesses and improve the quality of care they offer.
For the families dropping off their children each morning at a neighbor’s home daycare, those investments are already making a difference.
