Strengthening Availability and Access to Child Care in Rural Communities
by Micere Keels | North Carolina Early Childhood Foundation | April 7, 2025
INTRODUCTION
Rural communities have distinct density features that are associated with unique characteristics of how families access child care and the type of care they are most likely to use. In general, rural families face increased challenges in obtaining high-quality, affordable child care that is within a reasonable distance from home or work, compared to families in more dense urban communities. The child care industry offers services through three main types of providers: center-based care, home-based care, and unlicensed care, usually provided by family members, friends, or neighbors (FFN care). Rural families are significantly more likely to use home-based and FFN care due to the limited availability, high cost, and distance to child care centers.
It is important to note that FFN care is a huge part of the overall child care ecosystem. Over 60% of children in the U.S. are in FFN care. Several states and advocacy organizations are working to ensure that FFN care is developmentally enriching care. For example, Colorado has established a Family Friend and Neighbor Care Advisory Council to recommend policy, funding and rules and regulations to the Colorado Department of Early Childhood, and support non-profit organizations to offer training programs, resources, and technical assistance to FFN providers.
Rural challenges in access to child care is an urgent problem that can be seen by the number and location of child care deserts. The NC Rural Center states that 44 percent of rural residents live in a childcare desert. Child care deserts are census tracts with more than 50 children under age 5 that contain either no child care providers or so few options that there are more than three times as many children as licensed child care slots.
Explore more using this interactive map of child care deserts across North Carolina.
Interactive map of child care deserts across North Carolina
PROBLEM: Providing Child Care in Sparsely Populated Communities
Everywhere across the US there is a large gap between the need for child care and the availability of licensed providers. Among surveyed rural parents who are not working, 86% cited childcare responsibilities as influencing that decision. Regarding the availability of child care, 45% of surveyed parents in rural communities said that they or their spouse provide care for their child, but only 26% said that this is their preferred option.
Child care programs in rural communities are at a financial disadvantage because of There are child care subsidy reimbursement rate differentials that reduce the availability of center based care in rural communities. Because child care programs operating in sparsely populated communities are operating on thin financial margins they also struggle to pay wages that are high enough to recruit and retain licensed staff.
Child care availability has been declining for the past two decades, accelerated by the pandemic. The continuing post-pandemic decrease in child care has hit rural communities the hardest, partly because they rely more heavily on home-based providers. Across the U.S. and here in North Carolina, the number of licensed home-based child care programs has been falling since 2005. The orange line in the figure below shows the steep pre-pandemic decrease in family child care.
Source: Addressing the Decreasing Number of Family Child Care Providers in the United States.
North Carolina’s Division of Child Development’s child care snapshot shows that in February 2025, there were 1,878 family child care homes serving 11,820 children across the state compared to 4,607 child care centers serving 246,622 children.
SOLUTION: Attending to the Unique Needs of Rural Communities
There is no one solution to this complex problem. The National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services’ report on rural child care is one source for a comprehensive set of policy considerations. We highlight the importance of head start funding, need for flexibility in staff qualification requirements, andneed for policies that support home-based child care providers.
Head Start funding plays a pivotal role in the availability and affordability of child care in rural communities. Approximately 32% of child care centers in rural counties are Head Start grantees compared to 15% of child care centers in metropolitan counties. Head Start prioritizes children’s early learning and development and also provides health and wellness services that include routine medical, dental, and mental health care. Head Start also supports families and parents through continuing education, housing stability, and financial services. Maintaining and expanding Head Start funding earmarked for rural communities is part of the solution to ensuring the availability of high-quality, affordable child care in rural communities.
Recruitment and retention of staff that meets state qualifications have long been an issue for rural child care programs. Some licensed child care positions require at least an associate’s degree in early childhood education or a related field. However, in many rural communities, less than a quarter of adults have post-secondary degrees, which creates a mismatch between the available workforce and licensing requirements. Licensing agencies and quality rating systems may need to include waivers and exemptions based on the education levels of community members. Licensing agencies may also need to consider granting provisional licenses while enabling staff to complete no-cost state-sponsored professional development.
Given the higher level of reliance on home-based child care in rural communities, strengthening their viability is a critical part of stabilizing the rural child care ecosystem. Home-based child care can offer many benefits, including care in small and mixed-age groups, continuity of care as children age, close-knit relationships with the caregiver, and logistical support and flexibility for parents working nontraditional hours. State-level child care policies and quality rating systems need to be intentional about drafting policies that are responsive to the unique challenges that make home-based providers very vulnerable to closing.
CHANGE AGENTS: Rural Child Care Resource Guide
The U.S. Department of Agriculture – Rural Development and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Administration for Children and Families recently released a Joint Child Care Resource Guide to help strengthen and expand childcare facilities in rural communities. The resources provided can support center- and home-based child care programs. They detail how funding from specific USDA-RD programs can be used to offset costs associated with new construction or building renovation and cover the cost of equipment, furnishings, and utilities to support child care in rural communities. Funding can be obtained through:
- Rural Housing Services: Community Facilities Programs, Tribal College Grants, and Rural Community Development Initiative
- Rural Business-Cooperative Service: Business and Industry Loan Guarantee Program, Rural Business Development Grants
- Rural Utilities Service: Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grants
Unique to the Joint Child Care Resource Guide is its attention to considerations for developing child care and early learning facilities that serve tribal communities. American Indian families are an important constituency of rural families and don’t receive enough consideration for how they are affected by the scarcity of child care in rural communities. About 50% of American Indian and Alaska Native families live in rural communities compared to 24% of all American families. Learn more about the child care needs of Tribal communities through the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Tribal Early Childhood Resource Hub.
The Guide notes, for example, that HUD’s Indian Community Development Block Grant Program for Tribal communities can be used to cover preconstruction and construction costs for new or renovated Head Start and Child Care centers. This is important because many tribal communities have crumbling infrastructure and have to first renovate or build locations that can meet code requirements. More resources can be found at The National Indian Child Care Association, which provides numerous tools to support Tribal governments in designing and implementing programs that benefit the unique needs of their Tribal citizens.
The Joint Child Care Resource Guide provides ideas for innovative solutions and community-driven success stories. One of the uncommon child care partnerships suggested is co-locating child care in assisted-living facilities or nursing homes. Many rural communities offer assisted living facilities or nursing homes for older residents, and the facilities already meet most building code requirements necessary for child care centers. This approach supports economy of scale because much of the overhead associated with food preparation, housekeeping, and laundry service can shared with the assisted living or nursing home program. There is also the added benefit of creating a larger care community with opportunities for elderly residents and young children to interact.
ACTION: Taking a Stand for Early Care and Education
While this brief focuses on some unique aspects of child care in rural communities, there is much more to understand about creating a sustainable solution to this many-tentacled systemic problem. Join us for “Taking a Stand for Early Care and Education: North Carolina’s Fight for Access, Equity, and Fairness,” a ten-part series exploring a selected set of complex challenges plaguing North Carolina's child care and early education system.
Each month, we'll detail the interconnected threads that contribute to the persistence of the child care and early learning crisis. Through a detailed examination of data, expert insights, and advocacy perspectives, we will highlight systemic challenges and present actionable policy solutions to drive the transformation needed for a stable and equitable system. Join us as we delve into critical topics, laying the groundwork for a robust dialogue on achieving universal pre-K, enhancing economic health through child care availability, and much more.
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In the next brief, we will detail policies that foster high-quality, home-based child care.
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