Adolescent Parenting Program (APP) is a home visiting model developed and run in coordination with the NC Division of Public Health (NC DPH) that increases teen parents’ self-sufficiency, delays additional pregnancies, increases high school graduation rates or achievement of the GED, improves child welfare and school readiness, improves positive parenting practices, and ensures children’s access to a safe home environment and medical home.

Advising for child care professionals advancing their education in early care and education is an intensive and comprehensive service designed to support the whole student in achieving their goals. Intensive advising is associated with improved retention rates and knowledge gains for students. Advising must be aligned with NC community College & Coaching for Mastery.

Advising for child care professionals advancing their credentialing in early care and education is an intensive and comprehensive service designed to support the whole student in achieving their goals. Intensive advising is associated with improved retention rates and knowledge gains for students. Examples of professional certifications include the Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential, Family Child Care (FCC) Credential, and North Carolina Early Childhood Credential (NCECC), among others. Advising must be aligned with NC community College & Coaching for Mastery.Advising for child care professionals advancing their credentialing in early care and education is an intensive and comprehensive service designed to support the whole student in achieving their goals. Intensive advising is associated with improved retention rates and knowledge gains for students. Examples of professional certifications include the Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential, Family Child Care (FCC) Credential, and North Carolina Early Childhood Credential (NCECC), among others. Advising must be aligned with NC community College & Coaching for Mastery.

Building Bright Futures (BBF) is program developed by the North Carolina Business Committee for Education (NCBCE), run in coordination with ApprenticeshipNC and Child Care Services Association (CCSA), that supports early childhood educator pre-apprenticeships and apprenticeships in North Carolina, providing technical assistance, resources, and financial support to participants. This program supports students who want to enter the field, as well as ECE professionals who want to advance their education with credentials, certificates, or degrees. Apprenticeship creates a pipeline of talented and high-quality educators, increasing the ECE workforce and providing opportunity for growth within the field. Classroom instruction, on-the-job training, and mentorship with reflective supervision enhance this career pathway. *This is a temporary Solution. Permanency is contingent upon findings of the pilot program funded by a grant from DCDEE, which runs from January 3, 2023 to December 31, 2024.

Attachment & Biobehavioral Catch-Up (ABC) Infant is a strengths-based parent/child home visiting model for families with children ages 6 months to 24 months. ABC Infant enhances the attachment security between a child and their caregiver, fosters strong, healthy relationships between parents and children, and promotes the child’s development.

Parent education curriculum delivered via two weekly text messages that share developmentally appropriate information with families who have a child aged birth to five on physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development. All Basics Insights messages are related to the five Basics Principles: Maximize Love, Manage Stress; Count, Group, and Compare; Talk, Sing, and Point; Explore through Movement and Play; and Read and Discuss Stories.

Home-visiting program to develop early language and literacy skills through customized literacy coaching and book provision. Book Babies equips parents/caregivers with a home library from birth and ensures their access to the tools and support needed to advocate for their children when they transition to Pre-K, kindergarten, and beyond.

A nationwide text messaging service that encourages parents and caregivers to make the most of their interactions with their children. Text nudges provide information to parents and caregivers about child development, health, and well-being Messages are customized to the child’s age and include tips, information, games, and resources. Optional features for customized messages based on location.

Funding for infrastructure or improvements/expansions that are not capital expenditures, as well as entrepreneurial development support for programs serving children birth to age 5 that operate more than 4 hours/day. Aligned with NC Child Care Regulations and Licensing as well as Smart Start Costs Principles. 

Prenatal care group that connects birthing parents, due at the same time. CenteringPregnancy provides birthing parents and their partners with prenatal care that allows them to engage in their own healthcare, improve their self-confidence for labor/birth and newborn care, and helps them build a support system. 

Intensive, home-based early childhood model that supports young children and their families as they heal from the damaging effects of stress and trauma. Two-generation approach builds strong, nurturing, caregiver-child relationships, promotes adult capacity, and connects families with services to increase emotional health, promote learning success, and prevent child abuse and neglect.

Child Passenger Safety (CPS) services increase families' access to child passenger safety education to prevent childhood injuries and death. A Nationally Certified CPS Technician works one-on-one with caregivers who learn how to choose the correct seat for their child’s height and weight, how to properly secure their child into the car seat, and how to properly install their car seats. CPS services will be coordinated with the local Safe Kids coalition and aligned with the North Carolina Child Passenger Safety Law (N.C.G.S. § 20-137.1).

Trauma-informed training to develop skills for improving attachment and/or strengthening relationships while reducing mild to moderate behavior concerns, and for increasing compliance.

Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs) provide support and resources for children in abusive situations through services performed by victim advocates, therapists, forensic interviewers, and medical providers serving children and non-offending caregivers in comfortable, child-focused settings. Additionally, Children’s Advocacy Centers of North Carolina (CACNC) offers symposiums, training sessions, and resources to keep local CACs, service providers, and multi-disciplinary team partners up to date with best practices.

Circle of Parents uses a mutual support group model. Meetings are co-led by group members and professionals. Meetings provide a place where parents and caregivers connect through open discussion - learning from each other and supporting each other while building the five protective factors with the ultimate goal of eliminating child abuse and neglect.

A manualized, video-based relationship model delivered by a trained facilitator to groups of caregivers or individual caregivers. Supports caregivers’ reflective capacity and optimizes their understanding of the social emotional needs of infants, toddlers, and young children with clear, simple graphics to offer adults the chance to make sense of what’s under the child’s behavior and their own.

The Growing Together Community of Practice model focuses on supporting the development and sustainability of a community of practice around an area of interest in early childhood. A Community of Practice (CoP) is a group-based support and consultation service for early care and education professionals who share interests/practices. CoPs provide a space and opportunity, whether in person or virtual, for shared learning, problem-solving, reflecting on real-life professional challenges, or common interests by sharing experiences, practices, ideas, tools, and resources.

The North Carolina Child Care Resource and Referral program (NC CCR&R) collects updated information on the availability and quality of child care programs to educate and assist families in finding child care programs that meet their child’s and family’s needs, as aligned with CCR&R Council practice guidance.

DCDEE-approved training(s) for entry-level assistants to multi-site administrators intentionally designed to enhance knowledge, skills, and abilities so that staff are fully equipped to best support the needs of the children and families served. For training(s) to count towards on-going training requirements, the content must comply with G.S. 110-91(11) and 10A NCAC 09 .1105 & .1703.

Network that partners with community agencies and programs to address families’ need for basic materials (such as diapers and baby wipes) to promote their child’s healthy development and hygiene. Includes three models for partnership: mobile delivery, closed partnership, and open partnership.

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a book distribution program designed to increase access to books and encourage early literacy experiences in households. Age-appropriate books are delivered monthly to the child’s home with their name on the mailing label, at no cost to the family.

Subsidy services support conducted by a state level Local Purchasing Agency (LPA) to perform family outreach and application; eligibility determination; payment processing; annual recertification; reporting; etc. Expenditures in this activity do not count towards the LP's TANF/CCDF expenditure mandate requirement.

Financial assistance paid on a direct per child basis for the purchase of part- or full-day care and/or rate enhancements for families eligible for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF). Includes wrap-around care for children attending other publicly funded part-day programs such as NC Pre-K, Head Start or Developmental Day Schools. This activity is implemented through the state-level subsidy contract and is governed by a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Local Partnership and the Local Purchasing Agency (LPA). This activity may serve children of all ages prior to kindergarten.

Financial assistance paid on a direct per child basis for the purchase of part- or full-day care and/or rate enhancements for families not eligible for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF). Includes wrap-around care for children attending other publicly funded part-day programs such as NC Pre-K, Head Start or Developmental Day Schools. This activity is implemented outside of the state-level subsidy contract. Data will be reported into DCDEE's Smart Start Reporting System on a monthly basis. This activity may serve children of all ages prior to kindergarten. Expenditures in this activity do not count towards the LP's TANF/CCDF expenditure mandate requirement.

Subsidy services support conducted by local partnership (LP) or direct service provider (DSP) to perform family outreach and application; eligibility determination; payment processing; annual recertification; reporting; etc. Expenditures in this activity do not count towards the LP's TANF/CCDF expenditure mandate requirement.

Financial assistance paid on a direct per child basis for the purchase of part- or full-day care and/or rate enhancements for families eligible for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF). Includes wrap-around care for children attending other publicly funded part-day programs such as NC Pre-K, Head Start or Developmental Day Schools. This activity is implemented outside of the state-level subsidy contract. Data will be reported into DCDEE's Smart Start Reporting System on a monthly basis. This activity may serve children of all ages prior to kindergarten.

The North Carolina Infant-Toddler Program (NC ITP) provides supports and services for families and their children, birth to three, who have special needs. Receiving supports during this period is critical as it offers a window of opportunity to make a positive difference in how a child develops and learns. Sixteen Children's Developmental Services Agencies (CDSAs) across North Carolina work with local service providers to help families help their children succeed. NC ITP’s vision for families and caregivers is that they will be able to help their children reach their maximum potential. Their mission is to provide supports and services to families and children to help them be successful in their homes and communities, by using every day learning opportunities. NC ITP staff respect the diversity of families and use research-based practices to guide their work.

The Family Check-Up (FCU) model is a brief, family-centered & strengths-based approach to mindful parenting. It combines empirically-validated assessment with motivational interviewing to engage families in identifying strengths and areas for improvement in parenting. It also provides parents with simple, practical parenting strategies to promote positive child development. Improvement in parenting skills and family relationships leads to reductions in child behavioral and mental health problems over time.

A universal newborn home visiting program that connects with families after the birth of a newborn to share in the joy of a new baby, assess unique family risks, and respond to immediate needs for support and guidance. The program provides supportive guidance to families, links families to community services based on their individual needs and preferences, and helps new parents connect with their infant by providing them with the confidence and support needed to sustain infant and parent health, child development, and overall family well-being.

Family Development services include the provision of intensive development, casework, and support, building off of Family Navigation, to help families with children 0-5 navigate social services, community resources, and/or healthcare as part of working towards the family's goals related to growth and self-sufficiency utilizing the Colorado Family Support Assessment (CFSA 2.0) with the Family Pathways Framework (FPF) developed by Colorado’s Family Resource Center Association (FRCA). Must be done in collaboration with the Family Navigation with CFSA 2.0 PID.