Resources

To search for local daycares in your area, review the NC Child Care Search website.

Child Care Services Association (CCSA)

Child Care Services Association (CCSA) offers this program for full-time UNC-Chapel Hill students and employees who meet their eligibility requirements. Call (919) 403-6950 and see The CCSA Subsidy Flier (PDF) for information.

In addition to administering this subsidy program, CCSA provides free referral services:

Educational materials about how to assess/evaluate daycares during site visits
Can create lists of potential providers based on geography (home location, work location, commuting routes)

Communiversity Youth Program

Communiversity Youth Programs (CYP), sponsored by the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History, is one of the Stone Center’s cornerstone programs and provides academic/cultural enrichment support to K-5th grade students (known as scholars) from select schools in the Chapel Hill Carrboro school system.

Hours of Operation: Mon-Th, 2:45-5:45pm
Ages served: K-5th grade students

Scholars work alongside UNC student volunteers and are provided homework assistance, take part in guided activities, workshops, theater and visual arts performances and other enriching activities. Scholars are selected to take part in the program by school administrators, who assist in determining student needs.

The University Child Care Center

The University Child Care Center, managed by Victory Village Day Care Center, Inc. The Center is a nationally accredited, five-star licensed non-profit center. License #68000204

The 10,500 square foot facility can accommodate 120 children. The center operates eleven classrooms, each designed to support age appropriate care and activities. The center also has a large multi-purpose room and an on-site kitchen. Outdoor play areas allow children to develop their large motor skills on a variety of equipment

UNC School of Education

The UNC School of Education will send out requests for babysitters, nannies, or tutors to their Education Majors listserv. Contact UNC School of Education.

ARCH National Respite Network and Resource Center

The mission of the ARCH National Respite Network and Resource Center is to assist and promote the development of quality respite and crisis care programs; to help families locate respite and crisis care services in their communities; and to serve as a strong voice for respite in all forums.

Visit the National Respite Locator, a service to help caregivers and professionals locate respite services in their community.

The North Carolina Respite Care Coalition is a grassroots network of parents, family caregivers and professionals in the field of respite care as well as government funding representatives and others from across the state who have an investment in family support services.

Help for Choosing Children’s Respite

Finding caregivers and respite providers (PDF)

How to interview potential caregivers (PDF)

Extracted from Finding Caregivers and Respite Providers compiled by the SC Respite Coalition and Family Connection.

List of NC respite providers (PDF)

Drop-In/Short-Term Child Care

Drop-in/short-term child care is defined by NC law in G.S. 110-86(2)(d)(d1) as a child care arrangement where care is provided while parents participate in activities that are not employment related.

Drop-in/short-term care child care would be used by parents who need care while they occasionally run errands or participate in leisure activities. The operation must be able to reach the parent if they are not on the premises. The parent must be able to get back to the program within 15 minutes.

Green Kids

Green Kids is a drop-in play facility and not a daycare.

Register your child(ren) and bring them in for a FREE hour of play! No appointment needed. Just mention New Family Trial.

Sleeping Grass Kids Drop-in Studio

The owner of Durham’s Indigo Montessori school, has opened Sleeping Grass to fill the need for flexible, drop in child care. At Sleeping Grass Studio, we offer an arts based drop in care. Our uniquely designed rooms are based upon various art modalities including visual arts, music, movement, storytelling, drama, cooking, and beyond.

Courtney’s Drop-In Kids Care

Courtney’s Drop-In Kids Care is family owned and operated in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The premier childcare experience includes fun and educational activities for children from brith through 12 years at hourly rates and flexible on-demand hours without reservations or enrollment or membership fees.

The Caregivers at Carolina Program is proud to partner with The Family Support Program (FSP), UNC School of Social Work. The FSP offers a variety of resources to promote and provide support for families with children who have special needs.

What is Family Support

Families want the best for their children, to nurture their growth and development. Families with children who have special needs want the same for their children, but often face additional challenges, including great stress, social isolation, and financial strain.

Family support aims to:

Increase the strength and resilience of families
Support parents as they help their children who have special needs achieve their full potential
Improve community capacity to serve families with children who have special needs
Help families make critical connections to other families and resources in the community
Provide individualized, family-driven support that respects family culture, values, and preferences

Visit the Family Support Program’s website to learn more about their work with local families and service providers.

The Family Support Network™ affiliate, Parent to Parent program offers parent to parent support as a core resource for families with children who have a special health care need, disability, or mental health issue. Through a one to one “match” experienced support parents provide emotional support to families and assist them in finding information and resources including diagnosis of conditions, local resources and connection with other families.

The UNC Family Support Program will facilitate access to the parent match program for you.
Request a confidential needs assessment and access to family support resources.

Or call (800) 852-0042 and speak directly with Ms. Barbara Leach.

For Families of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

The Caregivers at Carolina Program is proud to partner with The University of North Carolina TEACCH® Autism Program. TEACCH offers a variety of services to individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their families.

The University of North Carolina TEACCH® Autism Program is a University-based system of community regional centers that offers a set of core services along with unique demonstration programs meeting the clinical, training, and research needs of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ADS), their families, and professionals across the state of North Carolina.

TEACCH Autism Program offers parent support and clinical services for individuals with ASD that are designed to promote positive behavior, communication, social skills development, and coping skills.

Our clinical services include:

Family Consultation
Diagnostic Evaluation
Support Groups (parents and adults with ASD)
Parent Problem-Solving Groups
Intervention Services (individual parent-child sessions, parent-child group sessions, group interventions for toddlers, school-aged children and adolescents)
Counseling Sessions for adolescents and adults
Supported Employment
School Consultation

Our Chapel Hill TEACCH Center offers a Parent Mentor Program. The TEACCH Parent Mentor Program was developed to support the families of children and adults ADS in the Chapel Hill and Raleigh TEACCH regions. The mentors are themselves parents of children with autism who volunteer their time to support other families by listening to the concerns of the family, sharing their own experiences, providing information about autism and related topics, and by informing families about resources in the community. Mentors make themselves available to families while waiting for services to begin at TEACCH or until the family gets connected to other supports and services in the community.

No matter what your child care situation, you want to have a back-up plan for child care in place for the inevitable day when something goes wrong.

Tips:

If you will use a nanny or your child is in a family day care, ask the provider what they will do if they are unable to care for your child due to their own illness or personal emergency.
If your nanny comes from an agency, see if the agency will send a substitute. (Make sure you can check the credentials of the back-up caregiver well before you need her help.)
Even if the child care provider tells you that there is a plan in place for these contingencies, have your own plan as well.
Some day care centers and family day care homes allow parents to bring children in on an as-needed basis. You should locate such facilities well before you need them. Most will require you to register your child ahead of time, and some may require payment of an application fee.
Drop-in care tends to be more expensive per hour or per day than regular full-time care. In an emergency, however, it could be well worth the price.

Here are three local child care centers that offer back-up/drop-in child care. Our inclusion of these centers on this website should not be interpreted as an endorsement of these centers by the Caregivers at Carolina Program. You are strongly encouraged to review the center’s compliance history at Division of Child Development and Early Education

Bright Horizons

Bright Horizons is rated by the NC Division of Child Development and Early Education as a 5 star facility and is accredited by The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

La Petite Academy

Licensed, educational daycare centers offering Flex Care The educational philosophy and curriculum of La Petite Academy’s 3 star centers is inspired by STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.

Acorn Home Care Services

An in-home caregiver service that can send a trained care-giver to your home is a great option. Acorn Home Care Services is a local, family owned and independently operated caregiving business.For child care:

Acorn operates as a registry and refers qualified, home care professionals who are experienced child care providers.
This service is ideal when you have some advance warning that your usual child care provider will be unavailable or when you anticipate that your child will be home sick for several days.

Caring for your patients during the day and your loved ones after work is not only demanding but the added workload can both increase your risk for burnout and diminish the quality of the relationships you have with the very individuals you love the most. Caring for aging family members can be especially challenging and emotionally taxing within the context of cognitive decline. Seeking assistance from high quality, professional caregivers is not a luxury but a necessity that allows you to spend quality time with your loved one.

Access the 2019-2020 Orange County Department on Aging Resource (PDF) guide which includes local information on:

Respite Care

Respite care is the provision of short-term, temporary relief to those who are caring for family members who might otherwise require permanent placement in a facility outside the home. Access to respite care has been shown to improve caregiver health and well-being, promote family stability, and avoid and delay more costly out-of-home placements. View the list of statewide and local respite resources (PDF).

See more information on:

Senior Recovery Center Locator

Needing assistance locating an in-patient recovery center for your loved one? Recovery.org can help.

Local Centers

The Passamore and Seymore Centers offer a variety of programs including classes, lunches, trip, and much more. Contact the Center of your preference to learn more.

Jerry M. Passmore Center
103 Meadowlands Dr.
Hillsborough, NC 27278
(919) 245-2015

Robert & Pearl Seymour Center
2551 Homestead Rd.
Chapel Hill, NC 27516
(919) 968-2070

Adult Day Care Center

Family members must do some research to determine whether the adult day care center is right for their loved ones. The components of a quality adult day care program should include the following:

Conducts an individual needs assessment to determine the person’s range of abilities and needs;
Provides an active program that meets the person’s social, recreational, and rehabilitative needs;
Develops an individualized treatment plan and monitors it regularly;
Provides referrals to other needed community services;
Provides a safe, secure environment;
Uses qualified and well-trained volunteers;
Adheres to or exceeds state and national standards and guidelines.

Source: Arch National Respite Network

ORANGE COUNTY

Charles House – Sunrise Adult Day Health
Daytime eldercare program provides quality personalized care to elders, experiential learning programs, and caregiver respite and resources.

7511 Sunrise Rd.
Chapel Hill, NC 27516
(919) 967-7570

Florence Gray Soltys Adult Day Health Program
Provides social activities and meets some medical needs with a part-time RN and full-time Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA) on staff. Accessible shower available.

105 Meadowlands Dr.
Hillsborough, NC 27278
(919) 245-2017

DURHAM COUNTY

Center for Senior Life – Adult Day Health
Provides social activities and meets many medical needs with a part-time RN and full-time Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA) on staff. Accessible shower available.

406 Rigsbee Ave., Ste. 202
Durham, NC 27701
(919) 682-0215

CHATHAM COUNTY

Piedmont Health SeniorCare (PACE)
All-inclusive care program for the elderly that provides comprehensive long-term health, social, medical, dietary care and special transportation needs for eligible seniors.
COUNTIES SERVED: Alamance, Caswell, Chatham, Lee, Orange

163 Chatham Business Dr.
Pittsboro, NC 27312
(919) 545-7337
(877) 714-2100

WAKE COUNTY

Total Life Centers
Resources for seniors’ adult day centers, called Total Life Centers or TLCs, have been serving Wake County residents since 1978. Total Life Centers provide an essential alternative for families who want to keep their older relative in the community as long as possible, but may not be able to provide 24-hour care.

Departure Dr. TLC
5124 Departure Dr, Suite 101
Raleigh, NC 27607
(919) 873-1870
Also home of Saturday Daybreak program

East Wake TLC
(Adjoins East Wake Senior Center)
323 Lake Drive
Wendell, NC 27591
(919) 365-4248

Cary TLC – Kildaire
Campus of Kirk of Kildaire
Presbyterian Church
200 High Meadow Dr.
Cary, NC 27511
(919) 467-6906

Garner TLC
Garner United Methodist Church
201 Methodist Dr.
Garner, NC 27529
(919) 773-3790

Cary TLC – Bond Park
(Next to Cary Senior Center, Bond Park)
120 Maury O’Dell Pl
Cary, NC 27513
(919) 460-9008

Button Home

Daycare Centers