Bladen Community College is training prospective child care workers in hopes of filling a critical need in the county.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services awarded grants to BCC and 15 other colleges to host a series of free Child Care Academies. The goal is to reduce the statewide shortage of day care workers by offering certifications through a mix of in-person and online learning.
BCC, which got $44,150 from the state, will kick off its first two-week academy on January 26. The school has tentative plans to host more sessions in March and April, said BCC President Amanda Lee.
Lee said she hopes at least five students will participate in each round. “The sky’s the limit,” she said. “As far as we are concerned, there’s no maximum for students we would enroll.”
Students will learn about CPR and first aid, playground safety, and safe sleep habits. They will also learn how to recognize signs of child abuse.
Those who complete the program will earn the North Carolina Early Childhood Credential and/or the Child Development Associate credential. They will also have completed background checks.
“To work at a child development center, there’s some basic things that you have to have done first,” Lee said. “What we’re hoping with these Child Care Academies is that we can get all of that work done so that when they make their application, they’ll already be ready to be employed.”
A 2024 report from the National Association for the Education of Young Children showed that 60% of 461 early childhood educators in North Carolina said they are experiencing a staffing shortage at their centers or homes. Staff burnout and frequent turnover were listed as common challenges.
Bladen County needs 470 more child care seats to meet families’ needs, according to a study from the Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska.
Lisa Recchuiti, an early-education instructor who is overseeing the program at BCC, said it is designed to help people find jobs in child care centers right away.
Some other colleges hosting Child Care Academies designed their programs to train participants to become lead teachers. Recchuiti said the program at BCC is meant to serve as a foundation, training participants to be teaching assistants.
Students who want to continue studying early child education could pursue an associate’s degree at BCC.
“It’s kind of like a great intro and first step,” Recchuiti said. “Sometimes people think, ‘Oh, I want to work with little kids,’ but it really takes someone special to work with small children. It’s exhausting. You need to have a lot of patience, and you have to understand children. Not everybody is cut out for it.”