The Couch Family Foundation is committed to making significant investments in New Hampshire-focused early care and education (ECE) research to help shape and build a pivotal knowledge base needed to improve policy and practice in the Granite State.
Here’s the latest research we’ve supported.
The State of Child Care in New Hampshire
NH Fiscal Policy Institute, February 2024
This issue brief summarizes State and federal funding allocated to child care in New Hampshire since 2016, the uses of those funds, and potential sources for additional resources that could be used to support child care in the Granite State going forward.
New Hampshire Child Care Scholarship Eligibility to be Expanded in 2024, Provider Reimbursement Rates Increased
NH Fiscal Policy Institute, January 2024
To help make child care more affordable, the NH Legislature has expanded family income eligibility for NH Child Care Scholarship recipients, reduced family cost share contributions for eligible families, and increased reimbursement rates for providers accepting scholarships.
Why Interstate Child Care Scholarship Policy Choices Matter in the Upper Valley
UNH Carsey School of Public Policy, Winter 2023
The early childhood context of the Upper Valley has some sharp distinctions across state borders, many of which are tied to state policy decisions over time. This brief explores how state-level decisions manifest in the child care sector, contextualizing findings within the specific context of the Upper Valley as an interstate region.
Child Care Investments and Policies in the Upper Valley, in the Pandemic and Beyond
UNH Carsey School of Public Policy, Winter 2023
The pandemic offered states access to new temporary funding streams and served as a policy testing ground for many in the early childhood education and care sector. This brief explores the pandemic era decisions and investments New Hampshire and Vermont made to support the sector and describes some of the challenges ahead for the field.
Changing Child Care Supply in New Hampshire and Vermont’s Upper Valley
UNH Carsey School of Public Policy, Winter 2023
This brief outlines the early childhood education and care landscape of Grafton and Sullivan Counties in New Hampshire and Orange and Windsor Counties in Vermont, contextualizing those findings with comparisons to data from the pre-pandemic period of 2017.
Working Families’ Access to Early Childhood Education
UNH Carsey School of Public Policy, Fall 2018
This brief examines the child care landscape in the Upper Valley of New Hampshire and Vermont and links these findings to a discussion of early childhood education policy and practice.
Understanding Early Childhood Education Needs and Experiences of Upper Valley Workers
UNH Carsey School of Public Policy, May 2018
This report outlines the findings of a survey designed to better understand thew early childhood education needs of working families in the Upper Valley of New Hampshire and Vermont. The survey specifically inquired about the child care use, challenges, and choices of select Upper Valley workers to lend geographic and contextual detail to data from national surveys and state administrative systems.
Understanding Early Childhood Education Needs and Opportunities in the Upper Valley
UNH Carsey School of Public Policy, November 2017
Despite a solid base of working families in the Upper Valley, the availability and affordability of child care in the region is not ideal. This report outlines these challenges and reviews existing policy and practice efforts to expand accessibility and affordability of child care.
Photography Credits
Banner courtesy of Vital Communities. Photo credit Molly Drummond