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NC Child Care Centers Told They Must Apply To Remain Open

AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File

The head of North Carolina's Department of Health and Human Services, Dr. Mandy Cohen, said on Wednesday that the state is trying to keep child care centers open for health care employees, firefighters, and other so-called “front-line” workers.

But the state is also telling child care centers they need to obtain permission from DHHS if they want to remain open or re-open during the pandemic. They have until March 31st to apply.  Centers that stay open must agree to stricter guidelines.

The advocacy group NC Child is recommending the state close child care centers while establishing special locations for emergency workers. The group is also warning that supply shortages may make it difficult for those emergency centers to follow state guidelines.

DHHS spokeswoman Kelly Haight Connor told the News and Observer that the state has set up a hotline to connect frontline workers with child care centers, but did not answer questions about possible closures or how the state might offer help for those that remain open.

For the most up-to-date information on coronavirus in North Carolina, visit our Live Updates blog here.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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