• Apply Now for Pre-K!

    Apply Now for Pre-K!

    Children who will be 4 years old on or before August 31, 2025 may qualify to attend a free, high-quality Cabarrus County Pre-K program!

    Submit one universal application to see if your child qualifies to attend one of the free Cabarrus County Preschool programs in 2025-2026.

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  • View Our Annual Report!

    View Our Annual Report!

    Our 2023-2024 Annual Impact Report is now available for you to view!

    Click here to check out the full report and see how our programs impacted young children, families, and early childhood professionals in Cabarrus County.

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  • Anne Laukaitis Champion for Children Award

    Anne Laukaitis Champion for Children Award

    The Anne Laukaitis Champion for Children Award is in honor of Anne's distinguished Smart Start leadership and her long career dedicated to the service of young children and families in Cabarrus County. This award is given annually to an exceptional individual at the local level who is devoted to public service and whose leadership qualities have resulted in significant change for the betterment of young children, families, and communities.

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  • State Directed Grant Funds

    State Directed Grant Funds

    Cabarrus County Partnership for Children was awarded $2,000,000 as a directed grant from the ARPA Temporary Savings Fund in the 2023 Appropriations Act S.L. 2023-134. The Cabarrus County Partnership for Children Board of Directors decided to use these new funds to provide additional programs in Cabarrus County for our youngest children and families.

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OUR FUNDING PARTNERS

smart start                           NCPREK

Early Education Liaison Program

Cabarrus Partnership for Children ('Partnership') funds the Early Education Liaison Program at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College (RCCC). The program focuses on working with local early educators and child care centers to enroll and assist them in completing their education.

In addition to serving as liaisons between the community college and local early educators, the program offers academic support, resources, referrals for tutoring, and scholarships for those who don't qualify for financial aid or incentives when they complete a semester with a B or higher.

By increasing the level of education that our local early educators receive, we increase the availability of quality early child care for Cabarrus County families.

Program Spotlight

Waynett Taylor, Program Chair of the Early Education Program at RCCC, spoke with Nida Kanwal about the support she received from our Early Education Liaison program and how it allowed her to take more classes as she pursued a career in early childhood education.

Program Contact

For more information about this program, contact: Isha Goode at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Resources for Early Childhood Professionals

Early childhood professionals help prepare our youngest children for school and for life. Your work matters to children, their families, our community and the world. This section is designed to help you get the information you need to provide a quality environment for the children you care for.

PROGRAM development & support

Training (CPR & SIDS)
 Cabarrus Partnership for Children offers SIDS and CPR training to early childhood professionals.
Early Education Liaison Rowan Cabarrus Community College provides this program to address teacher education and business administrator education in child care facilities.
Inclusive Child Care
 Provides consultation/coaching, training, and technical assistance focusing on establishing nurturing classroom environments and relationships.
Child Care Resources Inc
 Training and Technical Assistance and help with Star Rated License and help with starting a new program.
CONNECT Courses Courses designed to build early childhood practitioners’ abilities to make evidence-based decisions. They emphasize a decision-making process, realistic problems to solve, the importance of integrating multiple perspectives and sources of evidence, the relevance and quality of content, and feedback.
EC Research & Reference Portal Provides access to a variety of primary sources, research and reference materials for individuals at all levels of the system: administrators, researchers, policy makers, practitioners, families and advocates for young children with special needs.
ECE Shared Resources Obtain deep discounts on a wide array of goods and services including child products, office and school supplies, food and beverages, uniforms, human resources, and more.
NCDHHS: Division of Child Development and Early Education Licensing, background checks, training and professional development, child care rules, emergency preparedness, and more.

Wage & Scholarship Support

AWARD$ Provides education-based salary supplements to low-paid teachers working full-time in infant-toddler classrooms in North Carolina.
T.E.A.C.H. Scholarship opportunities for Early Care and Education Community Specialists who want to take coursework leading to an associate, bachelor’s degree or graduate coursework in early education.
WAGE$® Provides education-based salary supplements to low-paid teachers, directors, and family child care educators working with children ages birth to five years old.

child Health & Early Intervention

Assuring Better Child Health and Development Helping to identify children for early intervention services and making sure they receive needed services.
Child Care Health Consultants Provides training and on-site assistance to 90+ child care providers to improve the health and safety of children and prevent the spread of communicable disease.
Department of Human Services If you suspect a child is being abused or neglected, contact (704) 920-1400. For reports after hours, contact the Cabarrus County Sheriff's Office at (704) 920-3000.
NC Infant-Toddler Program Available to help families, caregivers, and professionals serve children, ages birth to three, who have special needs.
Smart Solutions A catalog of effective programs, interventions, and strategies that support children prenatal-through-five, their teachers, caregivers, and communities.

Family Resources

  • Resources for Parents
    Cabarrus Partnership for Children has compiled a list of resources and tools that are available to parents of young children in Cabarrus County.

Cabarrus

1307 S Cannon Blvd
Kannapolis, NC 28083
P: 704.933.8278
F: 704.934.0029

Partnership

PO Box 87
Kannapolis, NC 28082

For Children

Financial information about this organization and a copy of its license are available from the State Solicitation Licensing Branch at 888-830-4989. This license is not an endorsement by the State. Contributions to Cabarrus Partnership for Children are tax deductible in conformance with IRS Standards.

© 2025 Cabarrus Partnership for Children. All Rights Reserved. Site by Perry Productions.