The two top Democratic candidates for governor both want to empty the state's child care subsidy waiting list if elected, they said this week.
Last month, more than 500 Edgecombe County children were cut from the county's child care subsidy, which is offered to single working parents. The county's waiting list stands at more than 700 children.
Another 280 children are on Nash County's child care subsidy waiting list.
Neither county, as is the case across the state, receives enough state funding to support every family that qualifies for assistance.
N.C. State Treasurer Richard Moore and Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue, both Democratic gubernatorial hopefuls, said they want to change that.
As part of his proposed economic stimulus package, Moore said he wants to shift $50 million from the state's general fund to eliminate the state's child care waiting list.
"These people are caught between a rock and a hard place," Moore said during a Telegram interview. "These are people who have marketable skills and can get jobs, but they can't get them without the state child care subsidy that they qualify for. It would benefit these mothers and the economy to give everyone who qualifies for help the help they deserve."
Perdue, responding to the proposal on Friday, said she too would seek to provide child care assistance to everyone who qualifies.
In 2007, Perdue supported an $8.4 million increase in state assistance, which prompted Edgecombe County to empty its waiting list at that time. Perdue said she wants to offer more sustainable relief.
"I am not new to this issue," Perdue said in a written statement through a campaign manager. "I have been advocating for this for a long time. ...
"This program is vital for the working families in North Carolina. Many of the families on the waiting list are struggling, trying to balance work and the high cost of child care. For some of them, they are paying more for child care than they are on their mortgage or rent. The assistance that the child care subsidy provides is often the difference between work and unemployment."
According to the Division of Child Development, the agency which administers the child care subsidy, there are 27,000 children on the waiting list across the state. Even more families need assistance but have not bothered to sign up, officials said.
Both candidates agreed that emptying the waiting list would drastically improve unemployment numbers.
Moore's proposal came with an explanation for how the child care subsidy boost would be paid for.
"That will have to come out of the general fund," Moore said. "I can tell you that as someone who as state treasurer has put an extra $7 billion on the table during the last seven years. I put $7 billion on the table that didn't come out of the taxpayers' wallet, so I don't think anyone can speak with more authority than I can on this. I can find $100 million a year in a $20 billion budget to move to priorities that I think are important."