Partnership for Children asks Chatham County for nearly $800,000 to expand early childhood supports; board asks staff to draft contract

The Partnership for Children on Monday asked the Chatham County Board of Commissioners for $799,002 to begin implementing priority recommendations from the county's Early Childhood Action Plan, framing the request as a mix of direct service investments and program administration.

Daryl Buss, presenting on behalf of the Partnership, said the package is intended to fund an initiative called Expanding Access to Early Learning and would split roughly into $600,000 for direct services and $199,002 for programmatic and administrative expenses. "The request that was made back in late April, early May, County Partnership for Children requested $799,002 in order to begin implementation of the Expanding Access to Early Learning initiative," Buss told the board.

The Partnership proposed four primary priorities: increasing the number of high-quality early learning programs and NC Pre-K slots with wraparound services (including transportation and after-school care), improving compensation for early educators (a proposed tiered salary pilot and stipends for credentialing), strengthening provider capacity and infrastructure, and expanding family support services such as screenings, referrals and parent engagement workshops. A summary budget the Partnership provided allocates about $290,000 to slot expansion and a separate, substantial portion to a compensation pilot.

Commissioners asked for detail on sustainability and whether any line items relied on county funds that could not legally be used. County staff and Partnership representatives said one line item$50,000 for facility improvement grantswould be difficult for county dollars to fund if the recipients are privately owned for-profit childcare businesses; staff said that item would need to be restructured or funded through other channels. Buss and commissioners also discussed the recurring nature of many items and the challenge of sustaining programs after one-time ARPA-enabled funding is exhausted.

County staff identified available ARPA-enabled funds as a possible near-term source and estimated approximately $697,000 of ARPA-enabled balance could be available depending on expenditure trends; staff warned that ARPA funds are one-time revenues and noted other county priorities that will be considered in future budget cycles.

After discussion, commissioners signaled consensus support for staff to work with Partnership for Children to draft a contract for services specifying deliverables and performance measures and return it to the board for future approval. Chair Howard and several commissioners said they supported making an investment with a clear plan for sustainability; staff said a contract and a potential budget amendment would be returned to the board.

Ending: Commissioners asked Partnership staff and county managers to craft a contract that clarifies legal limitations, sustainability strategies and measurable deliverables, then return the item for a formal vote once details and funding sources are set.