[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-583334-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-583334-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","granite-guide-to-early-childhood-primer-operating-on-thin-margins-the-cost-of-providing-new-hampshire-child-care-6","Granite Guide to Early Childhood Primer - Operating on Thin Margins: The Cost of Providing New Hampshire Child Care - 6","","This primer examines the operating-cost pressures facing New Hampshire child care programs, highlighting thin profit margins and financial instability despite high family prices and an undercompensated workforce. Using a national cost model and budget examples from three programs, it contrasts the market affordability of tuition with the higher true cost of delivering care, especially under scenarios paying living wages with benefits. 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The primer connects these pressures to net loss in licensed programs over time.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"How does the primer estimate the true cost of child care?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"It relies on a nationally developed cost model that estimates the true cost of care by program type and staffing assumptions. It then compares these costs to tuition levels faced by families.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What non-tuition revenue sources are discussed, and what constraints do they have?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"The primer highlights the CCDF, Head Start, and CACFP, noting that their amounts and allowable uses are limited. It also describes temporary COVID-era relief and the need for grants, fundraising, and other smaller streams when funding fluctuates.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},583334,1792990699,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,100,105,110,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":97,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":101,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":55,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":111,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":26,"language":139,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":143,"read_time":55,"preview_page_count":4},962084928904,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","NH EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION  \nRESEARCH CONSORTIUM  \nGranite Guide to Early Childhood Primer \\#6 Winter 2026  \nOperating on Thin Margins: The Cost of Providing New Hampshire Child Care  \nTyrus Parker and Jess Carson  \nhe Carsey School of Public Policy’s Granite Guide   \nTtoHaEarmpl~~y~~shChiresldheoodarlycsearrieeasnhighlightsd educatioisns(uNesH inENCEe) w  \nsector by synthesizing evidence on a set of interconnected topics. This primer focuses on operating costs for New Hampshire child care programs. For more detail about the series, visit the NH ECE Research Consortium webpage.  \nChild Care Providers Are Economically Strained and Financially Complex  \nDespite the high price of child care for families and an undercompensated workforce, child care programs face slim profit margins and financial instability. Challenges like high  operating costs and low compensation are common risks for program closures nationwide and likely play a role in the 11 percent net loss in New Hampshire licensed child care programs between 2017 and ~~2025.~~​1  \nComprehensive revenue and expense data for child care programs are rare, both nationally and for New Hampshire. However, one important recent exception is a new cost model that estimates the true cost of care for different program types in each state. In New Hampshire, for instance, operating a program with a separate classroom for infants, toddlers, three-year-olds, and four-year-olds would cost between $1.1 million per year (if paying educators at current levels and offering no benefits) and $1.8 million (if paying educators a living wage with benefits) .2 These costs would result in infant tuition between $21,000 and $33,000 per year, yet center-based tuition for infants averaged $16,000  in 2024. The disparity between prices that the market can bear and the costs of operating a program—particularly a high-quality program with appropriate staff compensation—helps explain why programs are financially unstable.  \nProviders Face Limited Non-Tuition Revenue Streams  \nAmid limited public funding, national data show family-paid  tuition dominates program revenue. Non-tuition revenue opportunities are piecemeal: the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), the main federal investment mechanism, is limited in amount and allowable uses, as are federal funds for Head Start and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) . COVID-era relief funds provided temporary support, but expired by fall 2024, and thus far, NH state funds to support the workforce were available only for 2025. Beyond these fluctuating funds, programs may turn to grants, fundraising, and other smaller revenue streams to fill gaps.  \nProgram Budgets Give Insight to Financial Models  \nTo contextualize cost-model estimates, we analyze operating budgets from three NH ECE programs, shared by partners for this primer. While these examples demonstrate how programs can sustain operations amid funding constraints, each operates with limited flexibility and significant tradeoffs. Figure 1 summarizes program revenue, highlighting the dominance of tuition, and the relevance of CCDF for Program 2, in a lower-income community.3  \nHuddleston Hall • 73 Main Street • Durham, NH 03824 • (603) 862-2821 TTY Users: Dial 7-1-1 or 1-800-735-2964 (Relay N. H.) • [carsey.unh.edu](carsey.unh.edu)  \nAccess Online  \n2 CA R S EY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY  \nFigure 1. Revenue Sources Among Three Active NH ECE Programs  \nSource: Carsey School analysis of 2024/2025 budgets  \nPersonnel Expenses Lead Expenditures  \nFor all three programs, staff wages and benefits are the largest expense category, accounting for more than 70 percent of expenditures (Figure 2) .4  \nDespite similarly high staff expenses, program expenses do vary. For instance, under facilities, Program 1 had rental costs, while Program 3 owned its site, but required costly maintenance. Meanwhile, under “other,” food costs were the most common expense and varied from 0 to 5 percent of expenditures across ","cbCaifllM8O5WF8X","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaifllM8O5WF8X","pdf",330119,"English","# Operating costs and financial strain\n## Revenue and expense structure\n## Non-tuition funding limits\n## Program budget insights\n## System-wide sustainability considerations","[{\"question\":\"Why are New Hampshire child care programs financially unstable?\",\"answer\":\"Programs face slim profit margins and financial instability due to high operating costs and a workforce that is undercompensated. The primer connects these pressures to net loss in licensed programs over time.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the primer estimate the true cost of child care?\",\"answer\":\"It relies on a nationally developed cost model that estimates the true cost of care by program type and staffing assumptions. It then compares these costs to tuition levels faced by families.\"},{\"question\":\"What non-tuition revenue sources are discussed, and what constraints do they have?\",\"answer\":\"The primer highlights the CCDF, Head Start, and CACFP, noting that their amounts and allowable uses are limited. It also describes temporary COVID-era relief and the need for grants, fundraising, and other smaller streams when funding fluctuates.\"}]","Granite Guide to Early Childhood Primer - Operating on Thin Margins: The Cost of Providing New Hampshire Child Care - 6 | PDF",1792046821]