State legislators, candidates get a briefing on childcare issues ahead of elections

With New Hampshire’s legislative session finished and election season on the horizon, current and potential state legislators attended a candidate briefing in Concord on Thursday to learn about the issues impacting the childcare sector. 

The event, called “The Workforce Behind the Workforce: A Candidate Briefing on Childcare,” was hosted by Save the Children Action Network, a bipartisan political advocacy group that prioritizes children’s issues. Hosted at Arts Alley in downtown Concord, the event had bipartisan attendance, with the majority of attendees currently serving as Democratic state legislators. 

Over 50 attendees got a nonpartisan briefing from young parents, childcare program directors and teachers, advocacy groups, and policy analysts about a wide range of topics and issues impacting the state’s childcare community. Panels on the financial realities for parents, the childcare scholarship program, business participation, and previous legislative work were held throughout the event.

Michelle Sheppard, chief operating officer of the Granite YMCA, started the briefing by talking about her interactions with parents every day. She said she constantly gets calls from expecting parents complaining about the difficulties of looking for childcare and finding only waitlists. 

“I always joke and say, ‘Oh you didn’t know? You call childcare before you call your OB-GYN,’” she said. 

Advocates also previewed some of their policy and legislative priorities for next year’s legislative session: increased state funding participation for the scholarship program and a dedicated funding stream in the budget for childcare support. 

Other speakers focused on the systemic financial constraints childcare providers face to keep the doors of programs open and how state and federal streams fund the state’s scholarship program, Head Start, quality initiatives, and more. More than a dozen panelists spoke on behalf of organizations, such as the Child Care Advisory Committee, Early Learning New Hampshire, New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute, New Hampshire Businesses for Social Responsibility, and Moms Rising.  

During the final Q&A session, campaigning candidates inquired about what regulatory changes and type of government intervention could best help the state’s childcare. They expressed interest in setting the scholarship’s income eligibility by region instead of statewide, improving communication between the Department of Education and Department of Health and Human Services, and increasing capacity without risking child safety. 

“If childcare is a public good,” one attendee said on their way out of the event, “it shouldn’t be this hard to have.”