Priorities for Child Care Action

Action Step Leadership Team: The organizations or individuals listed under the priority have agreed to be part of a team to lead the strategy together.

In blue    Action Step Leader/Co-Leaders: The member(s) of the Action Step Leadership Team who stepped up to convene the meetings and be responsible for reporting updates at the Zoom Calls with the Child Care Community.

Legislation is listed in alphabetical order within the categories of SUPPORT, MONITOR and OPPOSE

Other priorities for action are listed below, in no particular order.

Priorities for Child Care Action

2025 Legislation

HB 1 (State Budget) - Restore the $15 million for child care workforce retention and recruitment grants DHHS proposed over the next Biennium, FY2026-2027.

Click HERE to see the Governor's proposed budget.  Page 881 shows the $15M in FY 2025 retention and recruitment grants not included for FY 2026 or FY 2027.  We will work hard together to restore it!

Early Learning NH, NH Child Care Advisory Council (NH CCAC), Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy, Save the Children Action Network (SCAN)

For more information, contact:

Jackie Cowell, jcowell@earlylearningnh.org

or

Marianne Barter, mariannebarter@gmail.com

HB 659-FN - Establishing the New Hampshire college graduate retention incentive program

SUPPORT

Early Learning NH, NH CCAC

For more information, contact:

Jackie Cowell, jcowell@earlylearningnh.org

SB 22 - Relative to disclosure of criminal history and criminal records

SUPPORT

Early Learning NH, NH CCAC

For more information, contact:

Jackie Cowell, jcowell@earlylearningnh.org

SB 243-FN - Relative to the child care scholarship program

SUPPORT

New Futures

For more information, contact:

Rebecca Woitkowski, rwoitkowski@new-futures.org 

SB 275 - Providing property tax relief for nonprofit child care programs

SUPPORT

Early Learning NH, NH CCAC, Waypoint

For more information, contact:

Jackie Cowell, jcowell@earlylearningnh.org

SB 142-FN - Establishing the department of children's services and juvenile justice

MONITOR

Early Learning NH, NH CCAC

For more information, contact:

Jackie Cowell, jcowell@earlylearningnh.org

HB 756 - Blood lead level testing for children entering child care

OPPOSE

Early Learning NH has testified in opposition to this bill and suggested a more efficient and effective practice than the one outlined in the bill.  We support adding blood lead level testing results on the health form to enter child care and have suggested that it is better to be the duty of the health care provider (HCP) filling out the form, not the child care provider receiving the form, to ensure that the form is complete and that it is most effective to require the HCP to be the one communicating with the parent about blood lead level testing. 

Early Learning NH, NH CCAC

For more information, contact:

Jackie Cowell, jcowell@earlylearningnh.org

Other Priorities for Action

Establish a fund and find a dedicated new revenue source to raise compensation for the child care workforce.

Early Learning NH, NH CCAC, Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy, SCAN, Staffing Crisis Taskforce

For more information, contact:

Jackie Cowell, jcowell@earlylearningnh.org

Protect public education funding and work on funding public Pre-K.

MomsRising, NH CCAC, White Birch Center, SCAN

For more information, contact:

MacKenzie Nicholson, mackenzie@momsrising.org

Explore avenues to fund the true cost of care.

MomsRising, Early Care and Education Association (ECEA), Coös County Directors Network (Coös), NH CCAC

For more information, contact:

MacKenzie Nicholson, mackenzie@momsrising.org

Address Family Child Care Barriers, e.g. adjust the FCC mixed-age ratios, collect needed data.

A Place to Grow, Coös, NH CCAC, ECEA, Early Childhood Resource Network (ECRN)

For more information, contact:

Jen Jegere, jlegere@aplace2grow.com

 

Ensure NH Easy is streamlined and user friendly, support new policies, and work to continue to improve child care scholarship system.

MomsRising, ECEA, ECRN, Coös, SCAN, Waypoint

For more information, contact:

MacKenzie Nicholson, mackenzie@momsrising.org

Categorical eligibility/expanded child care scholarship for the child care workforce.

Coös with New Futures, YMCA network, ECEA, White Birch Center, MomsRising

For more information, contact:

Airole Warden, airolesage@gmail.com

Explore solutions to liability and commercial insurance for child care programs, identify barriers to securing adequate business insurances.

Early Learning NH, Coös, NH CCAC, NHAEYC, Waypoint

For more information, contact:

Jackie Cowell, jcowell@earlylearningnh.org

Explore solutions to securing health care coverage for the NH child care workforce.

Early Learning NH, The Growing Years

For more information, contact:

Jackie Cowell, jcowell@earlylearningnh.org

Ensure State Child Care Budget is sufficiently funded, track funding and spend down, promote capacity at DHHS, etc.

Early Learning NH, NH CCAC, MomsRising, Coös, YMCA network, SCAN, Waypoint

For more information, contact:

Jackie Cowell, jcowell@earlylearningnh.org

©Early Learning NH