N.C. launches new child care and early learning data dashboard

A new dashboard from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services allows residents to track information about the state's early care and learning network.

Users can now currently view and download information about the state's child care and learning centers from 2018 to 2021. Data can be sorted by a facility's star rating, the type of child care provider, or by county.

One section of the dashboard offers general information about the number of child care centers or homes, enrollment numbers, and staffing levels.

Users can also find details about the total number of children enrolled in the state's Pre-K program.

And a third section covers sites that are part of the Subsidized Child Care Assistance Program.

Ariel Ford is director of the Division of Child Development and Early Education. She says the dashboard is a major step forward in making data more accessible.

“So we get questions a lot from people like 'How many child care programs are in my community? Is there a need for more child care in my community?' Or, 'Do we have enough high-quality child care in my community?' So rather than having to do kind of an exhaustive search or reach out to us, they're able to just have that at their fingertips," says Ford. 

Ford says this is the first version of the dashboard, and the state will continue to add more layers of information for public use.