Family & Community
Children don't grow up in isolation—they thrive or struggle based on the strength of their families and the safety of their communities. In New Hampshire, more than 64,000 children live in single-parent households, where poverty rates have climbed to 21 percent, and over 42,000 children have experienced two or more adverse childhood experiences that can impact their health and well-being for decades to come. Yet there is also resilience and hope: children are being raised by grandparents and other relatives who step up during family crises, Family Resource Centers are providing critical support to strengthen families across the state, and programs like home visiting are helping prevent trauma before it takes root. The data makes clear that when families have access to education, economic opportunity, and community support, they are far more likely to reach their full potential and build healthy, successful lives.
New Hampshire Families
Family structure and access to community support impact child development in New Hampshire
- 64,000 children live in single-parent families in New Hampshire.1 Six percent of households with children in New Hampshire speak a language other than English at home. Children living with cohabitating couples are included in this group, while children living with married parents and stepparents are not. Nationwide, the profile of unmarried parents has changed significantly. In 1968, 88 percent of single parents were moms living alone, and 12 percent were dads living alone. By 2017, approximately 35 percent of all unmarried parents were cohabiting with another adult.2
- Children growing up in single-parent families typically do not have the same economic opportunities as those growing up in two-parent families. In 2023, 21 percent of single-parent households in New Hampshire lived below the federal poverty line—a five percent increase from 2022.3
- Compared to children in two-parent households, children raised by single parents are more likely to face emotional and behavioral health challenges. Research has connected these challenges with factors unique to single-parent households, like parental breakups, witnessing conflict, and moving homes.4
Data Spotlight
Fatherhood
Children with involved dads tend to do better socially, emotionally, and academically than kids with uninvolved fathers. Research shows that children with fathers who are involved in daily care, such as feeding, bathing, and playing together, grow up to be more confident.
Household Education
Parental education also plays a part in child outcomes.
- More than half (56 percent) of children in New Hampshire live with parents who hold an associate’s, bachelor’s, or graduate degree.5
- Multiple studies have found that parental education, and even more specifically, maternal education, is a unique and significant predictor of child achievement. Parents with college degrees are less likely to be unemployed and more likely to have health insurance. Over a lifetime, women with bachelor’s degrees will earn over $800,000 more than those with only a high school diploma. Associate’s degree holders will earn $400,000 more over their lifetime than those with only a high school diploma.6
- An additional 40 percent of New Hampshire children live in households where their parents’ highest level of education is a high school diploma or GED, while four percent (approximately 4,000 children) live in households where the head of household is not a high school graduate.5 Research has found that more than half of parents who enter college leave without completing their degree, emphasizing the need for policies that reduce barriers for these parents, such as child care scholarships.7
Data Spotlight
Public Higher Education
For each full-time student attending the University of New Hampshire, Plymouth State University, Keene State University, or one of New Hampshire’s community colleges, the state contributes just $4,629 toward their education, ranking New Hampshire last amongst all states in public funding for higher education. Illinois contributes $25,529 per full-time student, while the average of all 50 states combined is $11,683. Underinvestment in public higher education increases tuition and fees for New Hampshire students and families.8
Kinship Care
For children who can’t live with their parents, living with other family members improves outcomes.
- Approximately 5,000 children in New Hampshire are being legally raised by their grandparents, with nearly half of them living with their grandparents for five years or more. It is estimated that an additional 18,000 children in the state are living with a grandparent or relative in a more informal arrangement.9
- Children may live with relatives during times of parental illness, incarceration, death, violence, or other crises. In New Hampshire, the prevalence of opioid use has highlighted the need for kinship care. A 2023 report by the New Hampshire Drug Overdose Fatality Review Commission noted that of the 1,656 deaths by overdose from 2019-2022, 70.3 percent were male, and more than half (53.9 percent) were between the ages of 30-49.10 Nationwide, 1 in 4 children now live with a parent with a substance use disorder, including alcohol. Children whose parents or caregivers have substance misuse challenges are more likely to use drugs or alcohol at younger ages themselves and have a greater incidence of other mental health conditions.11 In New Hampshire, Step Up Parents provides financial assistance to kinship caregivers who are raising the children of parents with substance use disorder.
- Compared to children in the general foster care system, children in kinship care tend to be more likely to stay with their siblings and maintain lifelong connections to family, have more stability, have better physical health and fewer behavioral problems, have better academic outcomes, and have continued positive outcomes as adults. Despite the positive outcomes for children, a federal report by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) found that less than a third (30 percent) of kinship caregivers received foster care training, and only 22 percent received help obtaining Medicaid for the children in their care, compared to 54 percent of nonrelative foster caregivers.12
Solving Problems Through Policy Change
Family Resource Centers
In 2025, New Futures helped secure $3.7 million per year in state funding for Family Resource Centers (FRCs). New Hampshire's FRCs strengthen families by offering concrete support in times of need, building social connections, offering classes in parenting and child development, and mitigating adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). A recent study in the Family Justice Journal determined a return of $2.92 for every dollar invested in family resource centers.13
Adverse Childhood Experiences
Adverse Childhood Experiences have long-term impacts on health, opportunity, and well-being.
- Adverse childhood experiences are potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood, such as frequent socioeconomic hardship, parental divorce or separation, parental death, parental incarceration, family violence, neighborhood violence, living with someone who was mentally ill or suicidal, living with someone who had a substance abuse problem, or racial bias. More than 42,000 children in New Hampshire have experienced two or more adverse experiences.14
- Children and youth who live in nurturing families and safe, supportive communities generally have stronger personal connections, higher educational achievement, and better mental and behavioral health. In a 2021 survey of over 5,000 adults in New Hampshire, 66 percent reported experiencing at least one ACE in their childhood.15
- ACEs can have a lasting impact on health and well-being, well into adulthood. According to the CDC, estimates indicate that up to 1.9 million cases of heart disease and 21 million cases of depression in the United States could have been avoided by preventing ACEs.16
Data Spotlight
MIECHV
333 New Hampshire families received in-home support through the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program in 2023. Home visiting helps prevent or mitigate ACEs by improving maternal and infant health outcomes, specifically in areas of positive parenting practices, family economic self-sufficiency, and school readiness.
Community
Children are more likely to thrive in neighborhoods with strong schools, support services, and community engagement.
- 6,500 children in New Hampshire live in homes where their parents or guardians report that children are not safe in their neighborhoods. The number of children living in self-reported unsafe neighborhoods has increased from 4,278 children in 2021.17
- Only 38.4 percent of children ages 0-17 in New Hampshire have access to all of the following: a park or playground; a recreation center, community center or boys’ and girls’ club; a library or bookmobile; and sidewalks or walking paths. Evidence indicates that safe neighborhoods with opportunities and access to community engagement and healthy lifestyle habits contribute to positive physical and mental health.18
- 46 percent of all households in New Hampshire, and 57 percent of rural families, live in a child care desert. A child care desert is any census tract with more than 50 children under age 5 that contains either no child care providers or so few options that there are three or more children for every licensed child care slot. Statewide, 68 percent of low-income families live in child care deserts.19
Data Spotlight
Lead in schools and child care centers
A 2023 report revealed that 3 in 5 schools and 1 in 5 child care centers had at least one drinking water source with elevated lead levels in the water. Out of the 3,236 drinking water sources that were flagged, 92% have completed remediation methods. The most popular method was permanently removing the fixture or posting "no drinking" signs.
Lead Testing and Mitigation
New Hampshire can do more to prevent childhood lead poisoning and reduce mitigation costs for families
- Lead exposure continues to affect the health of children and families in New Hampshire. The amount of lead dust that can poison a child is so tiny you can’t see it on hands, toys, pacifiers, floors, and other surfaces. Crawling, sitting, and putting their hands and toys in their mouths put young children at high risk for lead exposure.20 In 2023, 76 percent of one-year-olds and 69 percent of two-year-olds were tested for blood lead levels, but this varies widely by region. Only 53 percent of one- and two-year-olds were screened in Carroll County, compared to a statewide high of 85 percent of children in the Greater Sullivan Regional Public Health Network. 21
- 1,142 children were identified as having elevated blood lead levels in 2023, an increase of over 300 children in 2022. Of the children tested in New Hampshire, 1 in every 10 children insured by Medicaid who received testing had elevated blood levels.21
- There are at least 32,350 young children in New Hampshire living in older housing units with lead paint. The most common source of exposure for young children in the United States is lead paint and dust in older homes. 284,000 housing units—more than half of New Hampshire's housing stock—were built before the 1978 ban on lead in residential paint. As such, 30 percent of childhood lead poisonings happen where remodeling or renovations have occurred within the last six months in homes, childcare centers, and schools. Despite this, the cost of mitigation for a home remains high, with the average bill costing $21,000 for rental units and $50,000 for single-family homes.22
Policy Considerations:
To improve outcomes for children and families, New Hampshire should adopt policies that:
- Invest in comprehensive funding for a statewide system of Family Resource Centers that give communities access to services that strengthen families.
- Increase access to Child-Parent Psychotherapy for young children who have experienced ACEs. For older children who have experienced trauma, increase access to Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
- Invest in evidence-informed, age-appropriate, substance misuse prevention programs to reduce negative outcomes for children who have experienced ACEs.
- Ensure universal blood testing for all 1- and 2-year-olds in New Hampshire, and invest in other critical initiatives, including lead detection, abatement, and prevention.
- Support kin-first child placement principles by ensuring relative caretakers have access to the supports they need to care for children whose parents are unable to care for them.
References
- Children in single-parent families | KIDS COUNT Data Center. (2024, September). Retrieved July 10, 2025, from https://datacenter.aecf.org/data/tables/106-children-in-single-parent-families?loc=31&loct=2#detailed/2/31/false/2545,1095,2048,1729,37,871,870,573,869,36/any/429,430
- Livingston, G. (2018, April 25). The changing profile of unmarried parents. Pew Research Center. Retrieved July 10, 2025, from https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2018/04/25/the-changing-profile-of-unmarried-parents/
- Families with related children that are below poverty by family type | KIDS COUNT Data Center. (2024, September). Retrieved July 10, 2025, from https://datacenter.aecf.org/data/tables/55-families-with-related-children-that-are-below-poverty-by-family-type?loc=1&loct=2#detailed/2/31/false/2545,1095,870,573,869,36/994,1297,4240/346
- The Annie E. Casey Foundation. (2024, April 6). Child Well-Being in Single-Parent families. https://www.aecf.org/blog/child-well-being-in-single-parent-families
- Children by household head’s educational attainment | KIDS COUNT Data Center. (2025, February). Retrieved July 15, 2025, from https://datacenter.aecf.org/data/tables/5203-children-by-household-heads-educational-attainment?loc=31&loct=2#detailed/2/31/false/2545,37,36,35/1312,1313,5925,1315,1316/11679,11680
- Helping parents get a college education helps children succeed. (2018, February 9). Scholars Strategy Network. Retrieved July 15, 2025, from https://scholars.org/contribution/helping-parents-get-college-education-helps-children-succeed
- Contreras-Mendez, S., & Reichlin Cruse, L. (2021). Busy with Purpose: Lessons for education and policy leaders from returning student parents. In Institute for Women’s Policy Research. Retrieved July 15, 2025, from https://iwpr.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Busy-With-Purpose-v2b.pdf
- New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute. (2025, August 14). New Hampshire Continues to Be One of the Lowest Funders of Public Higher Education in the Country - New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute. https://nhfpi.org/resource/new-hampshire-continues-to-be-one-of-the-lowest-funders-of-public-higher-education-in-the-country/
- About kinship care — Step Up Parents. (n.d.). Step up Parents. Retrieved July 10, 2025, from https://stepupparents.org/about-kinship-care/overview
- New Hampshire Drug Overdose Fatality Review Commission. (2023). Annual Statistical Report, 2019-2022: 2019-2022 DATA REVIEW. Retrieved August 18, 2025, from https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt476/files/documents2/overdose-fatality-review-commission-annual-report.pdf
- Millions of U.S. kids live with parents with substance use disorders. (2025, July 18). National Institutes of Health (NIH). https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/millions-us-kids-live-parents-substance-use-disorders#:~:text=Children%20whose%20parents%20or%20other,and%20other%20mental%20health%20conditions.
- The Annie E. Casey Foundation. (2025, March 25). What is Kinship Care? https://www.aecf.org/blog/what-is-kinship-care
- Bayless, S., PhD, Richmond, M., PhD, Pecora, P. J., MSW, PhD, & Anderson, A., PhD. (2025). A Longitudinal Analysis of a Rural Family Resource Center and the Cost Benefits to the County-Based Welfare System. Family Justice Journal, 005, 12–20. https://www.thefamilyjusticegroup.org/family-justice-journal
- Children who have experienced two or more adverse experiences | KIDS COUNT Data Center. (2025, April). Retrieved July 14, 2025, from https://datacenter.aecf.org/data/tables/9709-children-who-have-experienced-two-or-more-adverse-experiences?loc=31&loct=2#detailed/2/31/false/2490/any/18961,18962
- New Hampshire Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). (2022). Data Brief: Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES), Adult health Behaviors and Adult health Outcomes. https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt476/files/documents/2021-12/nh-aces-report.pdf
- About adverse childhood experiences. (2024, October 8). Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). https://www.cdc.gov/aces/about/index.html
- About adverse childhood experiences. (2024, October 8). Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). https://www.cdc.gov/aces/about/index.html
- Explore neighborhood amenities - Children in New Hampshire | AHR. (n.d.). https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/measures/amenities_overall/NH
- Do you live in a Child Care Desert? (n.d.). Do You Live in a Child Care Desert? https://childcaredeserts.org/2018/?state=NH&urbanicity=Rural&split=true
- Health Effects of Lead Exposure (2022, September 2). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/prevention/health-effects.htm
- New Hampshire Department of Health & Human Services Division of Public Health. (2024). LEAD POISONING IN NEW HAMPSHIRE WHAT THE DATA TELLS US [Report]. Retrieved August 5, 2025, from https://wisdom.dhhs.nh.gov/wisdom/assets/content/resources/lead-exposures/2023-lead-data-briefs/NH-Report-2023.pdf
- Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health, Healthy Homes and Lead Poisoning Prevention Program.
