Most parents need child care in order to go to work. But the costs of childcare are out of reach for many Granite Staters. Between 2022 and 2024, a family in New Hampshire would have to pay $30,000 on average to have both an infant and toddler in child care.
The state has actually set up a scholarship fund that allocates money toward a family’s child care costs, but it’s drastically underused. In 2025, only about 7% of the eligible children in New Hampshire were using the state funding.
At the Rochester Child Care Center, about 60% of the families with children there are on the scholarship program.
“The relief you see when people qualify for it,” Cora Hoppe, the Executive Director of the Rochester Child Care Center, said. “It's no longer them having to choose between food, electricity, housing. Now they can go work.”
For NHPR’s series How To New Hampshire, we’re learning about New Hampshire’s Child Care Scholarship Program and how people can use it. Hoppe gave us some basic facts and tips for how to use the fund.
More people are eligible for the fund than you might think
The state expanded eligibility for the scholarship in 2024. Now a family of four making roughly $125,000 a year would qualify for the program. And, “[They’d] only pay up to 7% of their wage, which is incredible,” Hoppe said.
The funds can cover multiple children in a family from ages six weeks to 13 years, and you can stay on the scholarship as long as you continue to be eligible.
“It's just basically staying up to date with the paperwork that the state requires,” Hoppe said.
Look for a child care center that accepts the scholarship before you apply
Not all child care centers accept the scholarship funds. You can search for one by going to the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Service’s child care search page. The scholarship doesn’t help connect you to a center, so you’ll have to find a center that has an opening or a wait list you can join.
Get on a center’s wait list
Once you’re on a waitlist, you can get a form from the state that will link you to the child care scholarship system, which you’ll need in the application process.
Ask for help with applying
Some government benefit programs famously have difficult applications, and Hoppe says that’s the case here, too. She recommends checking the application out online and then asking the child care center you’re in touch with if they can help.
“Many centers are willing to help you along,” Hoppe said. She says anyone can call the Rochester Child Care Center, as well, for assistance. They have staff trained specifically to help with the process, and they can point you in the right direction.
“And DHHS is always willing to help as long as you can get them on the phone,” Hoppe said.
The child care scholarship helps providers’ bottom line too
Hoppe says the scholarship program helps care centers’ cash flow, allowing them to stay in business.
“I really want people to think of it as a benefit to them because they work for our economy,” Hoppe said. She’s concerned the money will be underutilized and it will be spent by the state elsewhere.
“So please tell everybody, make sure that you're checking it out,” Hoppe said. “Children and families deserve the best, and we've worked really hard to get to this point.”
