The North Carolina Child Care Commission will hold its First Quarter Meeting on September 14, 2020 by WebEx beginning at 9:00 a.m.  A public hearing will also be held during this meeting on proposed rule amendments and fiscal note to implement new birth-kindergarten teacher licensing pathways, provide countable annual training credit for receiving technical assistance (TA), increase enforcement of out-of-state background checks, and modify operational documentation and communication requirements. The proposed amendments also include technical edits and clarifies amendments that were made since the review of existing rules in 2019.  The public hearing will begin at 1:00 p.m. The comment period begins on August 7, 2020 and ends on October 16, 2020. Comments may be submitted by email to Dedra.Alston@dhhs.nc.gov or by mailing Dedra Alston, Division of Child Development and Early Education, 2201 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-2200.

Also, during its First Quarter meeting on September 14, 2020, and as an Agenda item set for 10:45 a.m. or as soon as may be heard, the Commission will hold a hearing on the Petition of Sylvia Corry, Owner/Director of Kids R Home Child Development.  See Petition: The public is invited to make written comments and/or oral presentations during the hearing. See WebEx link below for access to the September 14, 2020 meeting. Also, comments may be submitted in advance of the meeting by email to Dedra.Alston@dhhs.nc.gov.

The public is invited to participate as an attendee during the meeting by clicking on the following link: https://ncgov.webex.com/ncgov/onstage/g.php?MTID=e8053308a46e9ea6d1b04550aed4faa37

How to Make a Public Comment

If you wish to share a comment in writing, you may do so in 1 of 3 ways.

1. Send your comment in an email to Dedra.Alston@dhhs.nc.gov no later than October 16, 2020.
2. Send your comment via US Postal mail to Dedra Alston, Division of Child Development and Early Education, 2201 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-2200. Mailed comments must be postmarked no later than October 16, 2020.
3. Type your comment in the Q&A function of the Child Care Commission’s WebEx Public Comment Hearing (Monday, September 14, 2020 at 9:00 am).

If you are submitting written public comment, the Commission asks that you provide (not required) your name and the facility/type of facility/organization that you are representing.

If you wish to share a comment verbally, through the web conference, please do the following:

1. In order to speak online, you must connect to the meeting through a computer or tablet.  DCDEE is unable to open audio lines if a commenter’s connection is through a phone line (either mobile or land).
2. Use the “raise hand” function in the WebEx room & wait to hear your name, to be called upon to speak.
3. The raise hand function is indicated by the hand symbol and is located on t

The North Carolina Child Care Commission will hold its First Quarter Meeting on September 14, 2020 by WebEx beginning at 9:00 a.m.  A public hearing will also be held during this meeting on proposed rule amendments and fiscal note to implement new birth-kindergarten teacher licensing pathways, provide countable annual training credit for receiving technical assistance (TA), increase enforcement of out-of-state background checks, and modify operational documentation and communication requirements. The proposed amendments also include technical edits and clarifies amendments that were made since the review of existing rules in 2019.  The public hearing will begin at 1:00 p.m. The comment period begins on August 7, 2020 and ends on October 16, 2020. Comments may be submitted by email to Dedra.Alston@dhhs.nc.gov or by mailing Dedra Alston, Division of Child Development and Early Education, 2201 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-2200.

The public is invited to participate as an attendee during the meeting by clicking on the following link: https://ncgov.webex.com/ncgov/onstage/g.php?MTID=e8053308a46e9ea6d1b04550aed4faa37

The NC Child Care Commission has adopted emergency rules and is proposing temporary rules to comply with the Governor's declaration of a state of emergency due to the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) to enact protective measures to help prevent the spread of the disease. This disease can result in serious illness or death to the public. The public health emergency, and the resulting closure of public schools, has impacted North Carolina school-age children and their families. To the degree that it is able, the North Carolina Child Care Commission is implementing emergency rules in order to give public schools options to provide care outside, or in addition to, the traditional school building, as well as give licensed facilities some flexibility to create and fill additional slots for school-age children to receive care while attending remote/online learning programs.  The emergency rules will become effective on August 13, 2020 and will be published in the NC Register on September 1, 2020.

Pursuant to G.S. 150B-21.1A when the Commission adopts emergency rules, they must simultaneously begin the temporary rulemaking process to replace the emergency rules and hold a public hearing on the rules to solicit comments. The comment period will be August 12 through September 2. The public hearing will be held on August 19, 2020, from 9:00 am until 10:30am.  The meeting will be held by WebEx and the public is invited. Additional information regarding how to participate in the public hearing will be forthcoming.

On August 5, NCDHHS shared a letter with public school superintendents regarding options for families who need child care during periods of remote learning for their school-aged children who are enrolled in public schools (ages 5 to 12). NCDHHS also shared a letter with families and parents, which is available in English and Spanish.