Directs the North Carolina Partnership for Children, Inc. (NCPC), in collaboration with the Community Colleges System Office (Office) to develop and implement a two-year pilot program that expands the childcare workforce academies (Academies or Academy) that are currently operating in Johnston and Wayne Counties across the State. Directs the Johnston and Wayne county local partnerships to participate in the pilot program. Tasks NCPC and the Office with selecting ten additional local partnerships to participate in the pilot program from the four local partnership regions of the statewide NCPC network: West, Mid-West, Mid-East, and East.

Specifies that the Academies provide free, comprehensive training and support to individuals, with no experience or education in childcare, who are interested in pursuing a career in childcare.  Instructs the Office and local community colleges to coordinate to ensure that Academy graduates meet all the requirements to be credentialed with the NC Early Childhood Credential as lead teachers in childcare in this State. Provides for Academy enrollment minimums and hours of operation. Directs that the Academy be offered free of charge to enrollees, and that participants receive the knowledge, skills, and training, including the necessary health screenings, background checks, and fingerprinting, required for employment as a lead teacher at a State childcare facility. Instructs participating community colleges to offer the Academy up to three times a year, with one offering occurring at the end of the traditional public school calendar to allow participation by interested high school and college students. Allows for one-time stipends to graduates of not less than $150 by local partnerships. Specifies that graduates are eligible to receive an additional one-time $500 stipend after a year of employment as a lead teacher. Provides for collaboration between the NCPC, its local partnerships, and community college(s) where those partnerships are located, as practicable, to implement the Academy and ensure that information about the Academy in the county is made available to the public.

Appropriates $738,000 from the General Fund to the Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child Development and Early Education for each year of the 2025-27 fiscal biennium to be allocated to NCPC to provide the State match for implementing the pilot program in the amounts described. Directs that the funding be allocated equally among the local partnerships selected to participate in the pilot program. Requires documentation of a 25% local match by the local partnerships as a condition for receiving State funds.  Instructs that any unexpended and unencumbered funds at the end of each fiscal year from the funds provided under this section do not revert to the General Fund but remain available for use in accordance with the act. Prohibits funds from being used for administrative costs.

Requires NCPC, in collaboration with the local partnerships and community colleges participating in the pilot program, to submit a progress report detailing any concerns or recommendations for program expansion to the named NCGA committee and the Fiscal Research Division by March 31, 2026. Provides for a final report due by December 31, 2026, covering at least nine specified areas including the local partnerships community colleges participating in the pilot program, the number of students enrolled in each academy by county, the rate of completion by county, and the outcomes achieved from the pilot program.

Effective July 1, 2025.