Abstract
In the fourth primer of the Granite Guide to Early Childhood series, authors Tyrus Parker and Jess Carson report that, in 2023, the average price of full-time, center-based care for an infant and a four-year-old in New Hampshire was nearly $32,000 a year. Equivalent to 28 percent of median family income for New Hampshire households with children under 5, this is four times the 7 percent threshold that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has deemed affordable.
High costs can push care out of reach for the lowest-income families, perpetuating inequity. Perhaps the most important relief from high early care and education costs is the New Hampshire Child Care Scholarship Program (NH CCSP), available to families with incomes below 85 percent of the state median. Yet prices are often unaffordable for families who are ineligible for the CCSP, particularly those just out of range of eligibility, part of a persistent national pattern too
Department
Carsey School of Public Policy
Publication Date
Fall 11-19-2024
Series
Primer 4
Publisher
Durham, N.H. : Carsey School of Public Policy, University of New Hampshire
Document Type
Article
Recommended Citation
Parker, Tyrus and Carson, Jessica A., "High Child Care Costs Strain NH Family Budgets" (2024). Carsey School of Public Policy. 498.
https://scholars.unh.edu/carsey/498
Rights
Copyright 2024. Carsey School of Public Policy. These materials may be used for the purposes of research, teaching, and private study. For all other uses, contact the copyright holder.