北卡罗来纳州1130万美元扩大幼儿教师薪酬补贴：覆盖39个飓风受灾县
北卡罗来纳州州长乔什·斯坦（Josh Stein）办公室11月5日宣布，州政府将投入1130万美元、为期三年，把幼儿教师薪酬补贴计划Child Care WAGE$扩大到39个受飓风「海伦」影响的县。资金来自联邦儿童与家庭管理局7500万美元灾后补充拨款，该拨款经《美国救济法》下达，州政府与非营利组织Early Years Inc合作执行。
新增的阿什县、麦迪逊县与瓦托加县将于2026年11月开放申请、2027年春季发放首批补贴券；其余36个县的参与教师自2027年1月起每人每年约可获1350美元激励。补贴按教师学历与在同一机构任教年限分级发放，意在把有经验的教师留在受灾地区的托幼机构。
WAGE$计划创设于1994年，是北卡运行多年的教师留任工具。州政府数据显示，计划参与者的年离职率约为14%，而全州幼儿教师平均离职率高达38%。卫生与公众服务厅长德夫·桑格瓦伊（Dev Sangvai）与Early Years总裁克里斯蒂·斯纳格斯（Kristi Snuggs）、州儿童早期教育负责人坎迪斯·威瑟斯彭（Candace Witherspoon）共同出席宣布。
飓风「海伦」2024年重创北卡西部山区后，当地托幼机构流失大量人手，不少家庭因找不到托位无法返岗。州长办公室称，这笔扩围资金优先补教师工资缺口，让受灾县的托幼容量先恢复到风灾前水平；申请细则将由各县Smart Start合作机构陆续公布。
（来源：北卡罗来纳州州长办公室）
North Carolina Puts $11.3 Million Into Child Care Teacher Pay Across 39 Helene-Hit Counties
North Carolina Governor Josh Stein's office announced on November 5 that the state will spend $11.3 million over three years to expand the Child Care WAGE$ salary-supplement program to 39 counties hit by Hurricane Helene. The money comes from a $75 million federal Administration for Children and Families disaster supplement under the American Relief Act, and the state will run the expansion with the nonprofit Early Years Inc.
Three newly added counties - Ashe, Madison and Watauga - open applications in November 2026 with the first supplements paid in spring 2027. Teachers in the other 36 counties become eligible in January 2027 for incentives of about $1,350 per person per year, tiered by education and tenure at the same program, in an effort to keep experienced teachers in disaster-area classrooms.
WAGE$ dates to 1994 and is one of the state's longest-running retention tools: state figures put annual turnover among participants at about 14 percent, against a statewide child care turnover rate of 38 percent. Health and Human Services Secretary Dev Sangvai announced the expansion with Early Years president Kristi Snuggs and state early-childhood leader Candace Witherspoon.
Helene devastated western North Carolina in 2024, and child care programs there have struggled to rehire, leaving families without care and unable to return to work. The Governor's Office says the expansion targets the wage gap first so disaster counties can rebuild capacity to pre-storm levels; county Smart Start partnerships will publish application details.
(Source: Office of the Governor of North Carolina)
来源：北卡罗来纳州州长办公室
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图片来源：Wikimedia Commons「File:Raleigh - North Carolina State Capitol.jpg」（P. Hughes 摄，CC BY 4.0） Image: Wikimedia Commons "File:Raleigh - North Carolina State Capitol.jpg" (by P. Hughes, CC BY 4.0)
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