Over $9 million in federal grants awarded to NH counties for child care, infrastructure development

New Hampshire's delegation, including Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (left) and Maggie Hassan, announced $9 million in federal funding for the state. Here, Shaheen and Hassan are shown during a February meeting in Manchester. (Photo by William Skipworth/New Hampshire Bulletin)

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and the New Hampshire congressional delegation announced Tuesday that 17 grantees received over $9 million in federal funding for child care, health care, infrastructure development, and outdoor recreation. 

The funding is from the Northern Border Regional Commission, a federal-state partnership aimed at economic and community development within New Hampshire, Maine, New York, and Vermont’s “most distressed counties,” according to their website. New Hampshire’s Belknap, Carroll, Cheshire, Coös, Grafton, Merrimack, and Sullivan counties are a part of the commission. 

“The Northern Border Regional Commission is an essential partner helping to ensure that rural communities across the Granite State get their fair share of federal resources,” Shaheen said. “The awards announced today will improve rural health care facilities, bolster and grow the northern outdoor economy, strengthen access to child care and much more.”

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Over $2 million was awarded to three projects to create and improve child care facilities in Cheshire and Sullivan counties. 

In Claremont, The Well Collaborative NH was awarded over $820,000 to repurpose a historic church into a community hub offering child care. The proposed community center will also have a commercial kitchen and public meeting space. 

In Keene, Rise For Baby and Family, a child care center, was awarded over $288,000 to expand a project that provides credential support, advising, and mentoring to “address staffing shortages and improve child care access.” Keene Day Care Center received $892,847 to create 20 new child care slots and “preserve” 70 existing ones. They will also use funds for HVAC upgrades, window replacements, and sprinkler installation. 

The commission allocated money from its three programs for economic growth, forest-based economic evolution, and “Timber for Transit.” Fourteen other guarantees were awarded funding to improve health care and transportation infrastructure, as well as bolster outdoor recreation and tourism throughout the state.