New Hampshire Early Childhood Strategic Plan

ECA worked with the University of New Hampshire, Spark NH, state agencies, families, and other partners to develop a statewide strategic plan for New Hampshire’s early childhood system. The process turned comprehensive needs-assessment findings and stakeholder knowledge into actionable priorities to strengthen services and supports for young children and families.

Our work included:

• Translating needs-assessment findings into strategic priorities, examining population needs, funding, barriers to family access, workforce and service-delivery challenges, coordination, and transitions across the early childhood system.
• Designing an inclusive stakeholder-engagement process that moved beyond consultation to involve stakeholders at different levels in shaping priorities, goals, outcomes, and decisions.
• Connecting state, regional, community, provider, and family perspectives, developing goals and outcomes that addressed multiple levels of the system rather than individual programs in isolation.
• Turning planning into an implementation framework addressing policy alignment, financing, geographic and substantive gaps in access, program coordination, transitions, quality improvement, equity, partnerships, and measures of success.
• Creating a practical statewide blueprint organized around positive learning experiences, healthy children and families, strong families, and statewide coordination, with strategies, implementation plans, and performance measures to guide the work forward.