SB 144-FN - AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE
01/05/2022 2218s
02/16/2022 0609s
2021 SESSION
21-0940
05/10
SENATE BILL 144-FN
AN ACT relative to child care scholarships.
SPONSORS: Sen. Whitley, Dist 15; Sen. Rosenwald, Dist 13; Sen. Perkins Kwoka, Dist 21; Sen.
Watters, Dist 4; Sen. Hennessey, Dist 1; Sen. Prentiss, Dist 5; Sen. D'Allesandro,
Dist 20; Sen. Soucy, Dist 18; Sen. Sherman, Dist 24; Rep. McWilliams, Merr. 27;
Rep. Nordgren, Graf. 12; Rep. Wallner, Merr. 10
COMMITTEE: Health and Human Services
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AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill establishes a child care scholarship pilot program to provide enrollment-based
reimbursement to child care providers.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
 SB 144-FN - AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE
01/05/2022 2218s
02/16/2022 0609s 21-0940
05/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty One
AN ACT relative to child care scholarships.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 1 Statement of Findings. The general court hereby finds that:
2 I. The availability of quality, affordable, safe, and reliable child care is critical to allow
3 parents to remain in the workforce, build a strong and future-focused economy, and provide a
4 supportive environment for healthy child development that prepares children for success in school
5 and in life.
6 II. The child care scholarship or subsidy plays a significant role in ensuring all New
7 Hampshire families can access quality, safe, and reliable child care, regardless of income.
8 III. The COVID-19 crisis has exposed the inherent fragility of New Hampshire's child care
9 system and the need to solidify this sector.
10 IV. Shifting from attendance-based payment to enrollment-based reimbursement for
11 participating child care providers would level the playing field for families qualifying for child care
12 scholarships, incentivize child care programs to open their doors to these families, and provide
13 stability to New Hampshire families, especially in such uncertain times.
14 2 Department of Health and Human Services; Child Care Scholarships; Pilot Program.
15 I. The department of health and human services shall implement a 3-month pilot program
16 to provide enrollment-based reimbursement to child care providers who accept child care
17 scholarships through the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) plan for New Hampshire. For
18 the purposes of the pilot, enrollment-based billing shall continue unless a child exceeds 2 weeks of
19 consecutive absence from the program without notification to the provider regarding circumstances
20 and agreed upon return date.
21 II. On or before September 1, 2022, the department of health and human services shall
22 provide a detailed report of the enrollment-based pilot to child care providers who accept child care
23 scholarships through the CCDF to the senate health and human services committee and the house
24 children and family law and health, human services and elderly affairs committees. In the report,
25 the department shall review and provide data on the overall cost of the enrollment-based
26 reimbursement model compared with the current attendance-based reimbursement model. The
27 report shall include data on utilization, child care provider participation, absentee rate, and other
28 relevant information available to assess the pilot program.
29 III. The department of health and human services is authorized to use the Supplemental
30 Child Care and Development Fund Discretionary Funds appropriated in the American Rescue Plan
 SB 144-FN - AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE
- Page 2 -
1 Act of 2021, Public Law 117-2 (ARPA), for the purpose of funding a CCDF scholarship pilot program.
2 The department is authorized to spend down CCDF funding before using ARPA Supplemental Child
3 Care and Development Fund Discretionary Funds.
4 IV. The department shall include, as part of the biennial budgetary process, the full cost to
5 provide enrollment-based reimbursement, rather than attendance-based payment, to child care
6 providers who accept child care scholarships through the CCDF plan for New Hampshire for fiscal
7 years 2024-2025.
8 3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
 LBA
21-0940
Amended 2/8/22
SB 144-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE (AMENDMENT #2021-2218s)
AN ACT relative to child care scholarships.
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ ] County [ ] Local [ ] None
Estimated Increase / (Decrease)
STATE: FY 2022 FY 2023 FY 2024 FY 2025
Appropriation $0 $0 $0 $0
Revenue $0 $0 $0 $0
Expenditures $0 $0 Indeterminable Indeterminable
[ ] General [ ] Education [ ] Highway [ X ] Other -
Funding Source:
Federal Funds
METHODOLOGY:
This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to implement a three-month
(or longer) pilot program to provide enrollment-based reimbursement, rather than attendance-
based payment, to childcare providers who accept child care scholarships through the Child Care
and Development Fund (CCDF). The bill authorizes the Department to use federal CCDF funds
or, if such funds are not available, federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to pay for the
pilot program. Following implementation of the pilot program, the bill requires the Department
to prepare a report identifying the costs of the respective payment models. Finally, the bill
requires the Department to submit, as part of its biennial budget process, the full cost of
providing enrollment-based reimbursement for the FY 24/25 biennium.
The Department states that it will be able to fund the pilot program with existing federal
resources, and that no additional appropriations will be necessary for the current FY 22/23
biennium. If the program is made permanent in the FY 24/25 budget, the Department expects it
to result in an indeterminable increase in expenditures at that time.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Department of Health and Human Services