Advocacy group for deaf children hit by N.C. budget gridlock
Layoffs ahead
The following article appeared in the August 20, 2025, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with smart and original local news for Charlotte. We offer free and paid subscription plans. More info here.
With state budget impasse, a nonprofit that helps deaf children is laying off almost all of its staff
The website of Beginnings for Parents of Children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing says it is suspending services.
A statewide nonprofit that advocates for children who are deaf says it is laying off almost its entire staff because of the continued impasse over North Carolina’s budget.
The Raleigh-based organization — called Beginnings for Parents of Children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing — is laying off its 10 salaried parent educators and one administrative staffer at the end of the month, said executive director Diane Doak, in an interview with The Ledger. She’s also laying herself off, she said.
The nonprofit works with parents of deaf children to link them to resources and services and help them navigate the educational system, including helping represent the interests of children with hearing loss at parent-school meetings. Often, parents and school administrators don’t fully understand the needs of hard-of-hearing children in schools, which can include, say, being seated away from noisy air conditioners, using microphones and minimizing loud group-learning discussions.
Cutting staff who work on behalf of hard-of-hearing students could leave some in unfavorable situations.
“It’s the small details that make a significant difference,” Doak said. “Most likely, these kids aren’t going to have the accommodations in services so they can thrive.”
Last year, Beginnings served 1,200 families statewide, across 89 counties, including 126 families in Mecklenburg, Doak said.
For the last 20 years or so, Beginnings has received a major grant from the state, which last year totaled $1.5M, or 87% of Beginnings’ budget. This year, though, legislators did not pass a full budget, and the N.C. Department of Public Instruction said it was unable to release grant money to Beginnings, Doak said. She said about a dozen other nonprofits also had their grants frozen.
NCDPI didn’t return an email from The Ledger last week.
In July, the General Assembly passed a “mini-budget” authorizing spending on agreed-upon needs. But there were a lot of areas it didn’t cover. The House and Senate are expected to reconvene next week.
Doak says she fully expects that when the legislature passes a budget, the funding will resume. “But until then, there is no state money coming in,” she says. —Tony Mecia
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