A group of early childhood nonprofits in Nashua has been trying a different approach to recruit child care providers. Since April, the Smart Start coalition has helped train more than 100 students who speak English, Spanish and Swahili.
Liz Fitzgerald of the United Way of Greater Nashua is one of the people who helps run the program. She said the necessary certifications are available online, but the program aims to lower the entry barriers by providing additional support for participants who might struggle with using the website or learning in English.
“It's so inspiring because usually you hear about how tough it is, and it's a hard business to do, but to have these people really excited about doing this work and willing to spend time on nights and weekends to do the training and do what it takes,” Fitzgerald said.
For their eighth cohort, Smart Start is partnering with the Brazilian Council to provide computers, training, language support and connections to prospective daycare providers. At a class this week, a group of about a dozen Portuguese speakers gathered at Nashua Community College for a short lecture on safety that was interpreted into Portuguese. After a break, the students used the time for an independent study.
Katia Fletcher is one of the participants. She speaks English, Spanish and Portuguese, so she spent some of her time helping fellow classmates navigate the training website. As an immigrant from Brazil, Fletcher said that opportunities like this are helpful so people in her community can open their own businesses.
She found out about the class online and hopes to open her own daycare. As a nurse and a mother of five, she says she feels prepared to make a difference.
“My dream is to open a space so that kids can have the confidence to dance, to sing, to work with the arts,” she said in Spanish. “I don’t know if it’s possible, but I’m going to try.”
Beyond creating opportunities for immigrants, Fitzgerald said the initiative also aims to generate economic development. By increasing the amount of available childcare, it helps working parents and generates independent income for providers.
About 16,000 Granite Staters were out of the workforce every month between September 2022 and October 2023 because they were providing care for children, according to a study from the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute.
The same study found that there were 45,660 child care spots in 2021, suggesting a shortage of approximately 8,300 child care spots statewide. A year later, the institute reported there were fewer providers and a decreased capacity to serve 44,515 children.
“Family child care is at the center of the economy,” Fitzgerald said. “If you don't have places for children to go that feel safe and fun and developmentally appropriate, then parents won't work and then we won't have the workforce that we need to drive the state's economic success.”
