Bill supported by local lawmakers seeks to recruit more child care workers

Feb. 1—Appearing before a legislative committee on Wednesday, N.H. Rep. Nicholas Germana of Keene said his wife, Leslie, is a prime example of an underpaid worker in child care and early childhood education.

His House Bill 566 would set up a recruitment and retention fund aimed at reducing a labor shortage in this industry.

The measure would cost the state $2.9 million next year, according to the bill's fiscal note.

It would provide sign-on bonuses of $1,000 for new child care workers or $1,500 for child care educators. It also calls for retention bonuses ranging from $2,000 to $3,000 in the third year after hire, the fifth year and every five years thereafter.

"My wife has been working as an early childhood educator for more than 25 years and she has two college degrees, an associate's in early childhood development and a bachelor's in developmental psychology," Germana, a Keene State College history professor, told the House Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs Committee.

"She recently became a co-director of a center in Brattleboro and for the first time in her career she is making just over $40,000. Twenty-five years of working in the profession and with two college degrees and she's still earning $10,000 a year less than the average cost of living in the state."

Germana said his son Dylan, 19, makes twice as much as his mother by managing a Jersey Mike's sandwich shop in Manchester.

"We certainly don't begrudge him that pay; frankly I'm really happy he can pay his own bills," Germana said. "He works extremely hard and has proven himself to be immensely valuable to his employers, but what does this say about how we value the people who nurture our children and keep them safe every day?"

Germana said the average preschool educator in southwestern New Hampshire starts at $13.51 an hour, or about $28,000 per year.

HB 566 is one of several bills this year aimed at improving the availability of child care.

Brian Gottlob, director of the N.H. Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau, said in an interview Wednesday that his department has determined that thousands of people, particularly women with young kids, don't work because they can't get child care.

"And, we do know we have 600 fewer child care workers in the state than prior to the pandemic," he said.

In its 2023 Public Policy Priorities document, the N.H. Business and Industry Association said increased access to quality, affordable child care is needed in order to grow the state's workforce and improve its economy.

There is a high demand for workers in the Granite State in general.

One metric for demand and supply of workers is the unemployment rate.

This rate in New Hampshire in December, the latest figure available, was 2.7 percent, according to N.H. Employment Security. The national rate was 3.5 percent in the same month, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Rep. Gary Merchant, D-Claremont, a member of the Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs Committee, asked Germana why the private sector can't do more to assist employees with the child care worker shortage.

"Why come to the state and ask for assistance?" he asked. "Why would not the business community itself step to the plate? I mean it's in their best interest to support this cause."

Germana said total reliance on the business community to solve the problem would not provide the guarantee a state program could offer.

N.H. Sen. Donovan Fenton of Keene, vice president of Fenton Family Dealerships in Swanzey, is a co-sponsor of HB 566. Both he and Germana are Democrats.

Fenton, who has two boys, told the panel he's had his own child care problems.

"I have a 4-year-old and a 2-year-old and my 2-year-old was on a 16-month wait list for child care," he said. "I'm also a business owner and when I go to hire prospective employees, I can't hire employees because they can't find child care here in New Hampshire."

Rep. Erica Layon, R-Derry, another member of the committee, asked Fenton if the bill would make much impact on the child care industry's workforce shortage or whether a broader approach was needed.

"How much do we need to reimagine this and is this subsidy just a Band-Aid?" she asked.

Fenton replied, "A Band-Aid is better than a wound right now in my opinion because we have nothing. I'm lucky. I live near my mom and we dump our kids on her all the time because we can't find a babysitter and sometimes the child care center closes at 4 p.m."

The committee will vote on the bill in the upcoming days and forward its recommendation to the full House.

Another bill pending this session would increase scholarship aid to families seeking child care. A third measure would create a new New Hampshire department that would build a pre-kindergarten pilot program.

Rick Green can be reached at rgreen@keenesentinel.com or 603-355-8567.

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