NASHUA – A $3.8 million federal grant will facilitate statewide alignment of the early childhood care and education system in order to better serve children and families throughout New Hampshire.

The federal grant, Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five, has been awarded to the University of New Hampshire. While collaborating with the New Hampshire Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families, university officials will focus on a number of tasks in the hope of improving education.

“Through collaborations with early childhood stakeholders, providers, and families, the state will conduct a comprehensive assessment of the needs and strengths of its current approach to supporting young children and their families,” information from the New Hampshire Department of Education states.

This assessment will be used in creating a strategic plan for a “more effective and accessible ECCE system.”

The final revised budget for the grant states UNH was selected as the state’s lead agency because it has the resources to successfully oversee the project.

The oversight of grant management at UNH will be facilitated by the grant’s primary investigators, Kimberly Nesbitt, an assistant professor at UNH, and Eun Kyeong Cho, also an associate professor.

“This grant is a true collaboration between the university, the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services, the Governor’s Early Childhood Council, and early childhood advocates and practitioners from all over the state,” Nesbitt stated.

In addition, there are hopes of short outcomes to achieve the collective vision that all young children and their families are healthy, learning and thriving.

All will be done with the help of key players and stakeholders. The grant also received approval from Gov. Chris Sununu. In a letter to Richard Gonzalez, with the Department of Health & Human Services Administration for Children and Families, Sununu stated, “This funding, when leveraged with public and private resources in our state, will enable New Hampshire to advance our early childhood care and education system in ways that would otherwise not be possible.”

Grace Pecci may be reached at 594-1243, or at gpecci@nashuatelegraph.com.

Newsletter