Senator Hassan Tours Construction of a New Child Care Center in Gorham

GORHAM - U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan toured the construction of the new Gorham Community Learning Center and spoke with local child care leaders about their efforts to expand access to affordable child care in the North Country. The new center was made possible through $1.5 million in federal funding, including from the Northern Border Regional Commission.

Once renovations are complete, the learning center will be able to serve up to 55 children, increasing its capacity by more than 50%.

"The soaring cost and low availability of child care in New Hampshire is stretching family budgets and making it harder for our small businesses to recruit the workforce that they need. This situation is especially dire in the North Country, where recent child care center closures have left families with fewer options for care close to home. That's why projects like the Gorham Community Learning Center expansion are so important," said Senator Hassan. "It was great to tour the construction of the new Learning Center and speak with the leaders whose work made the expansion possible. I will continue to support investments like this one here in Gorham that help parents remain in the workforce and set children up for success."

Senator Hassan previously toured the Gorham Family Resource Center and saw firsthand the need for the Community Learning Center to expand beyond its current location. The new facility, located in a former bank building, is part of efforts by Evergreen Start to expand child care capacity across Coös County.

Senator Hassan leads several bipartisan efforts to help more families access and afford child care. Her bipartisan Child Care Tax Benefit Outreach and Assistance Act, which would help more businesses use existing federal child care tax benefits to support their employees, recently advanced out of the Senate Finance Committee. Senator Hassan also introduced the bipartisan After Hours Child Care Act to improve access to affordable child care for parents working nontraditional hours. Additionally, Senator Hassan helped introduce the Child Care for Working Families Act, which would cap child care costs at 7 percent of a family's income, make high-quality preschool universally accessible for all 3-and 4-year olds, and increase wages for early childhood workers.

###

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Tweet