U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen: Delays to child-care relief are devastating

Workforce shortages that were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic have caused child-care centers across the Granite State to close, forcing countless families to scramble for alternative options. Since 2019, New Hampshire has lost nearly 1,500 child-care slots as dozens of child-care centers have closed their doors, straining countless families and communities.

The closure of a child-care provider can result in higher costs for families or require a parent to leave the workforce altogether. These problems are exactly what federal pandemic relief funds were intended to address when they were provided by Congress more than two years ago. But, despite the dire need for help in communities across the Granite State, the state of New Hampshire struggled to get those dollars out the door efficiently and the consequences were shouldered by our most vulnerable communities.