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Work session examines $15 million childcare workforce ask and TANF limits
Summary
Division 3 reviewed HB 15‑15 (repeal) and HB 15‑66 (contingent appropriation) covering childcare workforce grants created in prior budgets. Providers said 2023 funds helped avert closures and raise wages; DHHS explained TANF‑to‑CCDF transfer rules (30% limit) and said the TANF balance has been drawn down to an estimated $20 million, complicating reliance on federal transfers.
House Finance Division 3 discussed two related measures, HB 15‑15 and HB 15‑66, which address a childcare workforce grant program authorized in prior budgets and a $15 million contingent appropriation to maintain recruitment and retention grants.
Provider testimony emphasized the program’s practical effects. Jackie Cowell of Early Learning New Hampshire told lawmakers that funding authorized in 2023 helped many centers survive and that the proposed grants are “the bare minimum” to recruit and retain staff. Mary Anne Barter, who runs local childcare programs, said prior grant dollars allowed her to raise wages (her agency’s floor moved to roughly…
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