In North Carolina, 5,678 children under the age of three are enrolled in Early Head Start programs, and 23 percent of 4-year-olds are enrolled in the state-funded NC Pre-K program. Funding for the pre-K program increased in 2012-2013, after a 20 percent cut in the 2011-12 school year, with the state beginning to again enroll more at-risk children (it reached a peak of 25 percent in 2009 and 2010). In addition, North Carolina remains one of only four states that meet the 10 quality benchmarks in early childhood education established by the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER). The average annual cost of center-based infant care in the state is $8,868.