Federal Community Development Block Grant Resources to Help Increase Access to Quality Child Care in the North Country
(Concord, N.H.) – The New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority (CDFA) has awarded $500,000 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to the Town of Gorham to support the Gorham Community Learning Center in acquiring and rehabilitating a vacant building to relocate and expand its existing childcare center. The award was recently approved by the Governor and Executive Council.
Through the expansion efforts, the Center will secure a license for seventy infants and children, which will add thirty-one new child care spaces and up to five full-time early childhood education jobs. The Gorham Community Learning Center is meeting a critical need for increased availability and accessibility of early childhood learning and care settings to serve children and families in Coös County and Upper Grafton County. The “Solving the Childcare Crisis in the North Country Report” highlights the urgency of meeting the regional demand for child care and mitigating the impact of local child care center closures in recent years that have displaced families and children from their child care settings and impacted local workforce participation.
“The Town of Gorham is well aware of the shortage of quality daycare, especially in the North Country, and we appreciate the Gorham Community Learning Center as one of the best daycare and educational programs in the State of New Hampshire,” commented Peter Gagnon, Town Manager of Gorham. “The opportunity to expand and relocate the Gorham Community Learning Center in Gorham, with the help of AHEAD and CDFA, is exactly what this community needs. The Town of Gorham is more than willing to be a part of such an important and impactful project.”
The project is the result of multiple collaborations, including the Town of Gorham, Coos County Directors Network, as well as support from AHEAD, a nonprofit developer in the North Country. Federal Community Development Block Grants are one of several funding sources making the project possible. Leadership of the Gorham Community Learning Center and Coos County Directors Network recently presented on their expansion efforts at a convening hosted by the Coös Coalition for Young Children and Families focused on solving the child care crisis in the North Country. Watch a recording of their presentation to learn more about the collaborative, solutions-oriented approach being taken to increase access to child care in Gorham and Berlin.
“Improving access to quality, affordable child care is critical to economic stability and growth for working families and our communities,” stated Katherine Easterly Martey, Executive Director, CDFA. “The Gorham Community Learning Center provides a positive, safe and stable early learning environment that enables parents to engage in the workforce and help strengthen our regional economies. We are grateful for strong, collaborative municipal and community partners that ensure these resources fund important, community initiatives like the Gorham Community Learning Center expansion.”
CDFA has guided the investment of more than $204 million of Community Development Block Grant resources into communities throughout New Hampshire since July 2003. These critical federal resources have been deployed to communities throughout New Hampshire and have a significant impact on economic development, housing and community-based initiatives which primarily benefit low- and moderate-income people in New Hampshire. Funding for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program is provided to New Hampshire through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
To learn more about CDFA, its impact on New Hampshire communities, and available funding resources, visit www.nhcdfa.org.
About the Community Development Finance Authority
The Community Development Finance Authority (CDFA) is a statewide nonprofit public authority focused on maximizing the value and impact of community development, economic development and clean energy initiatives throughout New Hampshire. The organization leverages a variety of financial and technical resources, including the competitive deployment of grant, loan and equity programs. Those resources include New Hampshire state tax credits, federal Community Development Block Grant resources and the CDFA Clean Energy Fund. For more information about CDFA and its programs visit www.nhcdfa.org or call 603-226-2170.
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