Add background information on the issue: In New Hampshire, child care for a family with two children under five costs more than $32,000 per year. Child care scholarships provide critical support for working families, but complex paperwork requirements, upfront payment demands, and burdensome data tracking for providers create significant burdens. Families must navigate intrusive documentation requests and unclear cost-sharing expectations while potentially facing hundreds of dollars in weekly expenses before their scholarships are approved – a system that strains parents and child care providers alike.
Add a sentence description of the bill: SB 243 streamlines the New Hampshire Child Care Scholarship for parents and providers, ensuring Granite State families have better access to the program.
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Need help? Contact Lauren Martin (Community Engagment Coordinator) for help taking action or Trina Ingelfinger (Early Care and Education Policy Coordinator) with policy questions.
About the Bill
Add information about the bill. Use accordions to provide more information when needed: SB 243 will streamline the process for parents and providers by making the following changes to the New Hampshire Child Care Scholarship Program:
Learn More
Fast Track Applications would simplify the application process for families who do not wish to opt-in to other state supplemental assistance programs. This would cut down on the need to provide grocery bills, housing costs, and more for New Hampshire Families.
Simplified Data Entry would simplify the attendance verification process for providers, which would allow child care administrators to spend more time caring for children.
A 60-day temporary period of presumptive eligibility would allow providers and families to place children in available slots promptly without the burden of financial uncertainty while applications are being processed. New Hampshire already uses presumptive eligibility in its Medicaid program.
Currently, child care centers track the attendance of children and then receive weekly payments for scholarships recipients. Proactive payments would remove the upfront burden by issuing payments at the beginning of each payment period.
WATCH: How Affordable Child Care is Transforming NH Families
Bill
Status
June 28: SB 243 was signed into law as part of the 2026-27 state budget!
June 5: Senate voted to include legislation from SB 243 into HB 2, the state budget bill.
May 22: House of Representatives voted to table SB 243 (277-83).
April 30: House Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs Committee Recommendation - Inexpedient to Legislate (10-8)
April 16: House Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs Public Hearing
March 27: NH Senate passed SB 243 (24-0); Bill advanced to NH House of Representatives
March 19: Senate Finance Reccommendation - Ought to Pass (6-0)
March 13: NH Senate passed SB 243 (24-0), refered bill to Senate Finance Committee
March 5: Senate Health & Human Services Committee Recommendation - Ought to Pass (5-0)
February 19: Senate Health & Human Services Public Hearing
For more details on the bill's status, visit the SB 243 page on the General Court website.
You can learn more about how New Hampshire's legislative process works on our About the Legislature webpage, or take one of our advocacy trainings.
Internal notes: Put the most recent status on the top. Keep description brief and link to bill page on the General Court website for more details. Bold and color House/Senate votes and final status.
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