AN ACT to appropriate funds to establish a child development associate apprenticeship pilot program and to reduce parent copayments for subsidized child care.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child Development and Early Education (Division), the sum of two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 2024‑2025 fiscal year to establish a two‑year child development associate apprenticeship pilot program. The Division shall establish the pilot program to assist in the shortage of qualified early childhood educators across the State by providing participants in the pilot with (i) on‑the‑job learning and coursework aligned with the knowledge and competencies required to be fully proficient employees, (ii) specialized training with a one‑on‑one mentor, and (iii) classroom‑based, related technical instruction that may result in college credit. The Division shall implement the pilot program in at least two child development centers, one of which shall be located in the Piedmont region of the State and one of which shall be located in the Eastern region of the State, with the intent to establish best practices that can be modeled statewide. In developing the pilot program, the Division shall consider coordinating with the North Carolina Partnership for Children, Inc., to implement the pilot program. The Division shall submit progress reports to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services by December 31 of each year the pilot program is in effect, with a final report by December 31, 2026, on the outcomes of educators participating in the pilot program.

SECTION 2.  Section 9D.3(b) of S.L. 2023‑134 reads as rewritten:

SECTION 9D.3.(b)  Fees for families who are required to share in the cost of care are established based on ten percent (10%) five percent (5%) of gross family income. When care is received at the blended rate, the copayment shall be eighty‑three percent (83%) of the full‑time copayment. Copayments for part‑time care shall be seventy‑five percent (75%) of the full‑time copayment.

SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2024.