NH Business: Child Care Prices in New Hampshire

BUSINESS. I’M FRED KOCHER, NEW HAMPSHIRE EMPLOYEES, POTENTIAL AND CURRENT FACED 31,868. AVERAGE COST FOR TWO CHILDREN IN CHILD CARE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE IN 2023. NOW TAKE A LOOK AT THIS GRAPH, WHICH SHOWS THE COST OF CHILD CARE IS UP ACROSS THE BOARD IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. AND YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THE GREEN BARS. ARE, UM, 2022 AND THE BLUE BARS ARE 2023. YOU’RE LOOKING AT TUITION PRICES FOR INFANTS AND TODDLERS. THE FIRST TWO GROUPS OF BARS ON THE LEFT ARE INFANTS, AND THE TWO GROUPS OF BARS ON THE RIGHT ARE TODDLERS. AND THAT’S FOR INFANT AND TODDLER, BOTH IN CENTER BASED CARE AND FAMILY CARE. AND YOU CAN SEE THE PRICES. I HOPE YOU CAN SEE THEM UP ON THE TOP. THEY’RE EXPENSIVE. SO WITH THAT, LET’S GO TO THIS GRAPHIC. AND THIS GRAPHIC SAYS THAT FOR MANY GRANITE STATE FAMILIES WITH TWO CHILDREN UNDER FIVE, 31,868 WILL BE THE SINGLE LARGEST ANNUAL EXPENSE EXCEEDING HOUSING AND FOOD AND HEALTH CARE COSTS. AND THAT IS WRITTEN BY NICOLE HELLER, WHO IS THE NEW HAMPSHIRE FISCAL POLICY INSTITUTE, IS MY GUEST, AND SHE IS WITH THAT INSTITUTE IN CONCORD. SHE AT ONE TIME WAS AN ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND EDUCATION AT COLBY-SAWYER COLLEGE IN NEW LONDON. AND BUT NOW SHE’S IN THE STUDIO. WELCOME. NICE TO HAVE YOU HERE. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME, FRED. I WANT TO ASK YOU ABOUT WHAT IS A CHILD CARE REALITY FOR MANY NEW HAMPSHIRE RESIDENTS AND NEW HAMPSHIRE BUSINESSES, AS YOU HAVE NOW WRITTEN ABOUT. AND LET’S GO TO THAT GRAPHIC. UM, ON AVERAGE, NEARLY 15,000 NEW HAMPSHIRE RESIDENTS ARE NOT EMPLOYED. EACH MONTH BETWEEN MARCH 23RD AND MARCH 24TH BECAUSE THEY WERE CARING FOR A CHILD, NOT IN SCHOOL OR IN A CHILD CARE SETTING. NICOLE, HOW HAS NEW HAMPSHIRE GOTTEN TO THIS POINT WHERE, UM, THOUSANDS OF NEW HAMPSHIRE RESIDENTS, MOSTLY WOMEN, DON’T GO TO WORK BECAUSE THEY CAN’T GET CHILD CARE? SURE. SO THIS IS REFLECTIVE OF NATIONAL TRENDS, AND IT’S BEEN A CHALLENGE FOR A LONG TIME. BUT THE COVID PANDEMIC REALLY BROUGHT THIS TO LIGHT. WHEN FAMILIES WERE WORKING FROM HOME FULL TIME AND HAD THEIR CHILDREN AT HOME ALSO. AND SO ONCE THAT PERIOD PASSED, THE CONVERSATION STARTED HAPPENING MORE AND MORE ABOUT HOW CHALLENGING IT WAS TO HAVE CHILDREN AND WORK FULL TIME. AND SO SOME FOLKS STEPPED OUT OF THE LABOR FORCE DURING THE PANDEMIC, AND SOME NEVER STEPPED BACK IN BECAUSE THEY’RE PROVIDING CHILD CARE. YEAH, I MEAN, THIS HAS BEEN DEVELOPING FOR YEARS, AS YOU KNOW, YOU’VE JUST DONE SOME DEEP DIVE INTO THIS WITH YOUR YOUR ARTICLES ON YOUR NEW HAMPSHIRE FISCAL POLICY WEBSITE. UH, IT’S GETTING THE IS IT THE QUESTION IS, IS IT GETTING THE ATTENTION IT DESERVES FROM THE LEGISLATURE. FROM HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT, AND FROM BUSINESSES IN NEW HAMPSHIRE? SURE. SO THERE’S SOME REALLY EXCITING AND HOPEFUL POLICIES THAT ARE COMING INTO PLACE BEING PILOTED RIGHT NOW. AND LAST YEAR’S BUDGET CYCLE, THE STATE BUDGET FOR 2024 AND 2025 DID RECOGNIZE SOME OF THE CHILD CARE CHALLENGES. THERE WAS A $15 MILLION DESIGNATED FOR THE CHILD CARE WORKFORCE GRANTS THAT PROVIDERS CAN USE TO HELP WITH RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION OF THEIR WORKFORCE. ONE OF THE CHALLENGES RIGHT NOW IS THAT THERE AREN’T ENOUGH EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS COMING INTO THE PROVIDERS, AND PART OF THAT IS RELATED TO INCOME IN 2023, THE MEDIAN WAGE FOR THESE FOLKS WAS 1562, 1562, RIGHT. THAT’S NOT A LIVABLE WAGE. UM, NOW, BECAUSE OF THAT, BECAUSE THEY’RE NOT SO FEW, SO FEW WORKERS AND BECAUSE THE REVENUES ARE NOT COMING INTO CHILD CARE CENTERS LIKE THEY NEED TO RUN THEM. UM, SO, SO DO YOU SEE SOME OF THEM? SOME HAVE CLOSED, AS YOU KNOW, DO YOU SEE MORE CLOSING? WELL, IT’S HARD TO PREDICT THAT NOT KNOWING WHAT WILL HAPPEN WITHIN THE NEXT YEAR OR TWO, THREE YEARS, BUT PROVIDERS ARE IN A DIFFICULT POSITION. THEY EITHER NEED TO INCREASE TUITION RATES, WHICH WE JUST SAW ARE ALREADY QUITE HIGH. UM, THEY WOULD NEED TO LOWER THEIR WORKERS WAGES, WHICH WE JUST TALKED ABOUT ARE VERY LOW OR THEY NEED TO RUN A DEFICIT, WHICH WE KNOW BUSINESSES CAN’T RUN LONGTERM ON A DEFICIT. SO WITHOUT ADDITIONAL INVESTMENTS, THOSE ARE THE DECISIONS THAT NEED TO BE MADE. NOW, WE’VE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT FUNDING, ALTHOUGH 29 MILLION IN FUNDING FOR FEDERAL FUNDS FROM THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN IS GOING TO EXPIRE THIS SEPTEMBER. BUT THE LEGISLATURE HAS KICKED IN WITH ABOUT 61.2 MILLION IN EMPLOYMENT RELATED CHILD CARE FOR 2425. NOW THERE’S A PROGRAM THAT COULD HELP THOSE WITH LOW AND MODERATE INCOME. HOW QUICKLY NEW HAMPSHIRE CHILD CARE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM, LET’S PUT THAT UP, PROVIDES SUBSIDIES TO HELP FAMILIES ACCESS AND AFFORD CHILD CARE. UH, THE WEBSITE YOU CAN GO TO IS NH EASY. THAT’S A WEBSITE OF THE NEW HAMPSHIRE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT. AND FINALLY, AFFORDABLE CHILD CARE HAS BEEN DEFINED AS NO MORE THAN 7% OF HOUSEHOLD INCOME. CLEARLY, NEW HAMPSHIRE IS NOT THERE. I WANT TO THANK NICOLE HELLER FROM THE NEW HAMPSHIRE FISCAL POLICY INSTITUTE FOR BEING MY GUEST. AND IF YOU MISSED PART