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Lawmakers Hear Update on Child Care Subsidies, Providers and a Removed Workforce Grant
Summary
Department of Health and Human Services staff told the House Finance Committee the state's Child Care Scholarship use rose 45% in the last year and 4,032 children were served in January; advocates urged restoring a $15 million childcare workforce appropriation that the governor's budget omits.
Karen Hebert, director of the Division of Economic Stability at the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, told the House Finance Committee on March 3 that the bureau overseeing child care saw a notable rise in program use.
"45% increase in utilization of what's known as the Child Care Scholarship," Hebert said, describing data showing recent growth in the Child Care Assistance/Scholarship program.
The committee heard that, as of January, the department was paying for child care for 4,032 children through the scholarship program. Nathan White, chief financial officer for DHHS, pointed lawmakers to the governor's recommended budget line for the division and answered questions about how the division's general‑fund totals are presented.
Why it matters: Committee members pressed for clearer cost breakdowns because the scholarship program is tied to federal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) rules and to a larger state effort to stabilize the child care market. Hebert and staff said federal and state investments during the COVID era (about $171 million in COVID‑era child care funding, as described in the presentation) have been directed at stabilizing supply and supporting providers.
During the presentation Hebert described several supply and quality initiatives: a voluntary quality rating system called Granite Steps for Quality with 60 providers enrolled; about 717 licensed child care programs statewide; and a recent family‑childcare and center expansion example in the North Country, the Gorham Community Learning Center, which serves 49 children.
Committee members repeatedly asked for financial context to match the program outcomes. Representative Rich Malovanko (Cheshire 9) and others asked for historic general‑fund totals and a breakdown showing what share of the division's general funds flow to particular objectives, such as responsible parenting programs, provider quality, or direct subsidies. White directed members to page 885 of the governor's operating budget for summary totals and offered to provide further class‑line breakdowns on request.
Public testimony: Two early‑care advocates testified after the department's briefing. Trina Engelfinger, early care and education policy coordinator at New Futures, said state childcare subsidy investments produce broader economic returns and cited recent research showing state economic losses tied to childcare shortages. "Every dollar invested in subsidy programs like the childcare scholarship can yield more than a dollar in economic impacts in the year that it is invested," Engelfinger told the committee.
Jackie Cowell of Early Learning New Hampshire asked lawmakers to restore a $15 million workforce appropriation that the legislature put in the current biennium but that the governor's recommended budget removes for 2026–27. Cowell said New Hampshire and neighboring states that continued workforce support have seen recruitment and retention benefits, and she asked the committee to consider allowable funding sources to sustain the workforce investment.
What the department said it will do: Hebert and White offered to supply the committee with more specific breakdowns: historic general‑fund totals back to the 2018 consolidation of programs into the Division of Economic Stability, detailed class‑line attribution for examples like the Gorham Community Learning Center, and further data on provider participation in quality initiatives and credential attainment.
Officials also flagged that some items in the division's budget are federal block grants and carry federal spending requirements (for example, minimum shares for quality activities and infant/toddler care) that shape how dollars may be used.
Looking ahead: Committee members asked the department to provide the requested cost‑benefit and historical spending details in follow‑up materials. Several members said they wanted to examine the department's prioritized needs list and the business cases for items such as a proposed eligibility call center and other investments that could improve service delivery or reduce future costs.
Ending: The presentation on child care was one portion of a longer Division of Economic Stability briefing. Committee members asked for follow‑up documents and said they planned additional review during the next steps of the budget process.
