Rockingham County explores CDFA Go North funding for childcare and possible workforce housing at county nursing home campus

Rockingham County officials on July 6, 2026, heard a presentation on a new Community Development Finance Authority program that could finance feasibility studies and renovations to support child care — and, in future funding rounds, workforce housing — at the county’s nursing-home campus.

Dave Walker, executive director at the Rockingham Law Commission, said the grant opportunity includes "some opportunities in there for doing feasibility studies and actually constructing workforce housing and daycare facilities" and that the county facility is listed as an eligible entity under certain program tracks. Rebecca Bobert, director of community development at the Community Development Finance Authority (CDFA) and program director for the rural health initiative, described the program as the "rural community health infrastructure program" and said the first budget period is focused on specific entity types rather than geography.

CDFA and regional-planning staff told the board that county-run nursing homes, federally qualified health centers, community mental-health centers and EMS are priority entity types in the first budget period and that child-care-related project development assistance and implementation funds may be available now. Bobert said workforce housing priorities remain less defined and are likely to be funded in later budget periods, not the initial round. "The first budget period is really focused around supporting very specific entities," she said, adding that workforce housing "has not yet fully [been] defined" for the first period.

Officials discussed specific funding vehicles and next steps: CDFA’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) planning grants can provide up to $25,000 to study feasibility; CDBG construction awards can provide up to about $750,000 toward affordable-housing construction in later tracks; CDFA’s rural program also includes capacity-building funds (about $50,000) to support project development, third-party consultants, engineers and architects. CDFA staff said implementation grants for renovation could be as high as $2,000,000 in some cases for eligible projects, though eligibility and approval will require federal CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) review for nursing-home–related childcare projects.

County finance staff indicated they have internal grant-administration capacity and a county grant writer; the board discussed coordinating with the regional planning commission or CDFA to administer technical work and grant procurement. CDFA staff recommended doing preparatory feasibility work and applying for the program-development assistance early; they noted the application window and urged the county to submit an eligibility form and project-development request promptly. A CDFA representative told commissioners the application for project development assistance is due September 1, 2026.

Commissioners and staff identified follow-up steps: (1) complete CDFA eligibility and project-development forms, (2) scope a childcare feasibility study (possible use of capacity-building funds to hire architects/engineers and an RPC contract for grant writing), (3) consider CDBG planning dollars for a housing feasibility assessment, and (4) monitor subsequent CDFA budget-period notices for workforce-housing priorities. The board expressed broad interest in pursuing prework so the county is ready if later implementation funds become available.

The board did not take a formal vote on grant application authorization during the meeting; presenters offered to assist with eligibility forms and to continue coordinating next steps.