Report on the New Hampshire Child Care System Crisis and its Implications for Sustainable Development Goals

Introduction: A Challenge to Sustainable Development

An analysis of New Hampshire’s child care system reveals a deepening crisis that presents significant barriers to achieving key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The system is characterized by unaffordable tuition for families, wages for early childhood education (ECE) professionals that fall below living standards, and operational instability for providers. These challenges directly undermine progress towards SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).

Economic Barriers to Quality Education and Gender Equality (SDG 4 & SDG 5)

The high cost of child care in New Hampshire creates a substantial financial barrier for families, limiting access to foundational early learning opportunities and disproportionately impacting the economic freedom of women. This directly conflicts with the aims of SDG 4, which promotes inclusive and equitable quality education, and SDG 5, which seeks to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.

• Average Annual Tuition: Between 2022 and 2024, the average tuition for an infant and a 4-year-old in center-based care was nearly $30,000.
• Impact on Family Income (2019-2023 data):
  • Married Couple: Tuition equated to 19.6% of the median income.
  • Single Father: Tuition equated to 40.6% of the median income.
  • Single Mother: Tuition equated to 60.0% of the median income, posing a severe threat to economic stability and reinforcing gender-based inequality.

The Decent Work Deficit in Early Childhood Education (SDG 1 & SDG 8)

The ECE sector in New Hampshire fails to provide its workforce with “decent work,” as defined by SDG 8, characterized by fair income and security. The persistently low wages contribute directly to poverty and financial insecurity among educators, a direct contradiction of SDG 1’s goal to end poverty in all its forms.

1. Sub-Living Wages: In 2024, the median annual salary for child care workers was $34,570, and for preschool teachers, it was $37,500. Both figures are significantly below the estimated $51,552 living wage required for a single adult without children in the state.
2. Poverty Among Professionals: In 2022, an estimated 9.4% of New Hampshire’s ECE professionals lived at or below the poverty line, compared to just 0.2% of elementary and middle school teachers.
3. Ineffective Educational Attainment: Research indicates that ECE professionals with some college education do not earn significantly more than the overall ECE workforce, discouraging professional development.
4. Reliance on Public Assistance: Nationally, 43% of ECE workforce families participated in at least one public safety net program in 2021, highlighting systemic wage failures.

Workforce Contraction and its Impact on Economic Growth (SDG 8)

Low wages and a lack of benefits have contributed to high turnover and a shrinking ECE workforce, which constrains the state’s overall labor force and hampers economic growth, undermining the objectives of SDG 8.

• Workforce Reduction: The number of individuals employed in the New Hampshire ECE workforce decreased by approximately 8% between 2023 and 2024, while the state’s overall workforce saw a net increase of 1%.
• Provider Closures: The workforce reduction may be underestimated, as family-based child care providers experienced a 12.3% closure rate between 2023 and 2024, far exceeding the 2.8% rate for center-based providers.
• Funding Changes: This decline coincided with the expiration of federal COVID-19 pandemic aid programs in 2023. The effects of subsequent federal and state funds allocated in 2024 for recruitment and retention are not yet reflected in workforce data.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Analysis

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 1: No Poverty – The article discusses the prevalence of poverty among Early Childhood Education (ECE) professionals.
• SDG 4: Quality Education – The core of the article is the crisis in the child care system, which is the foundation of early childhood education.
• SDG 5: Gender Equality – The article highlights the disproportionate financial burden of child care on women, particularly single mothers, which impacts their economic empowerment.
• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth – The low wages, lack of benefits, and high turnover rates for ECE professionals point to a lack of decent work within this sector.
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities – The article exposes inequalities in income, the affordability of essential services like child care, and the economic vulnerability of a specific workforce sector.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

• SDG 1: No Poverty

  • Target 1.2: By 2030, reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions. The article directly addresses this by stating that a significant percentage of New Hampshire’s ECE professionals are living at or below the poverty line.

• SDG 4: Quality Education

  • Target 4.2: By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education. The crisis described—unaffordable tuition for families and a shrinking workforce of educators—directly threatens the access to and quality of early childhood care and education.

• SDG 5: Gender Equality

  • Target 5.4: Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate. The article’s data on child care costs consuming “60% of a single mother’s median income” illustrates how the high cost of care is a major barrier to women’s economic participation, underscoring the need for better social protection policies.

• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

  • Target 8.5: By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value. The article details how ECE professionals do not earn living wages, with median salaries like “$34,570” falling far short of the estimated living wage of “$51,552” for a single adult. This points to a failure to provide decent work and fair pay.

• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

  • Target 10.4: Adopt policies, especially fiscal, wage and social protection policies, and progressively achieve greater equality. The article’s focus on low wages, the impact of expiring federal aid, and the allocation of state funds for recruitment highlights the critical role of fiscal and wage policies in addressing the economic inequality faced by the ECE workforce and families needing care.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

• For SDG 1 (Target 1.2):

  • Indicator: Proportion of the ECE workforce living at or below the poverty line. The article provides a specific figure: “about 9.4% of NH’s ECE professionals were living at or below the poverty line” in 2022.

• For SDG 4 (Target 4.2):

  • Indicator: Cost of child care as a percentage of median income. The article provides detailed data, such as child care costs equating to “19.6% of median income for a married couple” and “60% of a single mother’s median income,” which serve as direct measures of affordability and access.
  • Indicator: Size and stability of the ECE workforce. The article mentions an “8% reduction in the number of individuals employed in the NH ECE workforce between 2023 and 2024,” which is a clear indicator of the system’s capacity to provide care.

• For SDG 5 (Target 5.4):

  • Indicator: Financial burden of child care on single mothers. The specific statistic that tuition for an infant and 4-year-old costs “60% of a single mother’s median income” is a powerful indicator of the gendered economic impact of child care policies.

• For SDG 8 (Target 8.5):

  • Indicator: Median annual salary of ECE professionals. The article gives precise figures, such as “$34,570” for child care workers and “$37,500” for preschool teachers in 2024.
  • Indicator: Gap between ECE wages and the local living wage. The article explicitly compares the median ECE salary to the MIT Living Wage Calculator’s estimate that a single adult needs “$51,552 annually,” quantifying the wage deficit.

• For SDG 10 (Target 10.4):

  • Indicator: Disparity in poverty rates between ECE professionals and other educators. The article contrasts the 9.4% poverty rate for ECE professionals with the “0.2% of elementary and middle school teaching professionals,” highlighting a significant inequality within the broader education sector.
  • Indicator: Disparity in the cost burden of child care across different family structures. The article shows that the cost represents 19.6% of a married couple’s income versus 60% of a single mother’s income, indicating an unequal impact.

4. Summary Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: businessnhmagazine.com