H259 - 2023 Appropriations Act. (SL 2023-134)

Overview: Section 9D.9 of S.L. 2023-134 requires the Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE), Department of Health and Human Services, in collaboration with the North Carolina Partnership for Children, Inc., to develop the Tri-Share Pilot Program. This is a two-year pilot program creating a public/private partnership for the sharing of child care costs equally between the employee, the employer, and the State. The State will provide $900,000 in nonrecurring funds for each year of the 2023-2025 fiscal biennium to be divided evenly between the regional hubs to be established under this section and selected to participate in the pilot program. Any unused funds must revert to the General Fund. Local partnerships chosen to serve as facilitator for each hub must design the program requirements consistent with this section. Childcare for this section includes full-time and part-time care, before and after school care, and summer camps. The regional facilitator can use up to 9% of its allocated funds for administrative costs. Within six months of the completion of the pilot program, DCDEE must submit a report to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services and the Fiscal Research Division of the General Assembly including, at a minimum, the following:

• The number of children served by age and county.
• Total pilot program costs including administrative costs.
• The amount of funds needed to expand the program statewide.
• The list of employers participating in the pilot program.
• Any other relevant information.

This section became effective July 1, 2023.