New Child Care Center Launches Amid Crisis in Somersworth, NH

SOMERSWORTH, N.H. — In a community hit hard by the closure of a local child care provider, parents have stepped up to fill the gap by establishing a new center called Thriving Roots Childcare. The initiative comes after the abrupt closure of Little Steps Early Learning Center, which increased its tuition by 50%, making it unaffordable for many families.

Kathleen Collins, formerly the director of Little Steps for ten years, took a leadership role in the new venture. “There were a couple of times where things felt rocky…but it has to work,” said Rebecca Rouse, a parent involved in starting Thriving Roots. “We’ve all worked too hard for this not to succeed.”

The tuition hike increased the weekly cost from $315 to $475, or about $24,700 a year, significantly above the average rate of $14,700 for child care in New Hampshire according to the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute.

Parents expressed deep concern when Little Steps announced its closure on January 24, leaving them scrambling for alternatives. The center’s closure contributed to the growing list of child care facilities that have shut their doors in New Hampshire since the pandemic, totaling nearly 220.

Collins was equally shocked by the sudden tuition increase and the closure announcement. “No one could or should afford that for childcare,” she stated. With the essence of urgency and determination, parents initially divided the remaining children among a few homes, even hiring reinstated teachers, but both Rouse and Collins recognized this was not sustainable.

“I held on because I believed in this community so strongly,” Collins added when discussing their vision for Thriving Roots Childcare.

To fund the new center, parents developed a business plan for a nonprofit model, raising $40,000 to cover expenses. Early negotiations allowed them to acquire toys and supplies from the previous center under less-than-ideal circumstances; a last-minute decision forced them to salvage what had been tossed in the dumpster.

Despite various obstacles, the center officially opened three weeks later. Rouse mused on the oddity of their journey, saying, “I’ll tell some of the other parents, decide who you want to play you in a movie because it just keeps getting weirder.” The new center’s classrooms are themed after vegetables, with the youngest class dubbed the “Beets” and the older class the “Turnips.”

Today, Thriving Roots Childcare has nearly 50 children enrolled, and most of the families that had left after the tuition hike have returned. Parent Rouse mentioned they are hesitant to expand too quickly, preferring to focus on sustainability.

New Hampshire’s childcare landscape continues to battle financial precarity, particularly as some pandemic assistance programs expire. Cora Hoppe, executive director of Rochester Child Care Center, has faced similar challenges, emphasizing the ongoing obstacles establishments like Thriving Roots will face. “I still don’t feel the current climate for any type of business right now is safe, but certainly not for child care in a failing market,” she said.