State Child Care Assistance Policies 2010: New Hampshire

•    Income eligibility limit: In 2010, a family of three in New Hampshire could qualify for child care assistance with an annual income up to $45,775 (250 percent of poverty, 61 percent of state median income).

•    Waiting list: New Hampshire had 2,359 children on the waiting list for child care assistance as of July 5, 2010, an increase from 1,845 children on the waiting list as of April 19, 2010.

•    Parent copayments: In 2010, a family of three with an income at 100 percent of poverty ($18,310 a year) receiving child care assistance paid $80 per month, or 5 percent of its income in copayments. A family of three with an income at 150 percent of poverty ($27,465 a year) receiving child care assistance paid $309 per month, or 13 percent of its income in copayments.

•    Reimbursement rates: In 2010, New Hampshire’s reimbursement rates for child care providers serving families receiving child care assistance were below the federally recommended level—the 75th percentile of current market rates, which is the level designed to give families access to 75 percent of the providers in their community.
o    New Hampshire’s monthly reimbursement rate for center care for a four-year-old was $88, or 11 percent, below the 75th percentile of current market rates for this type of care.
o    New Hampshire’s monthly reimbursement rate for center care for a one-year-old was $143, or 15 percent, below the 75th percentile of current market rates for this type of care.

•    Tiered reimbursement rates: In 2010, New Hampshire did not pay higher reimbursement rates for higher-quality care. 

•    Eligibility for parents searching for a job: In 2010, New Hampshire allowed parents to qualify for or continue receiving child care assistance for up to 40 days in a 6-month period while searching for a job.

Source: Karen Schulman and Helen Blank, State Child Care Assistance Policies 2010: New Federal Funds Help States Weather the Storm (Washington, DC: National Women’s Law Center, 2010). These data reflect policies as of February 2010, unless otherwise indicated.