This story was also written up in the Monadnock Ledger Transcript and Keene Sentinel newspapers.
PRESS RELEASE: CONCORD, NH – At its Annual Awards Celebration on Wednesday, October 11th, New Futures, New Hampshire’s leading health policy and advocacy organization, honored two state Senators for their bipartisan work to support children and families across the Grante State.
Sen. Becky Whitley, a Hopkinton Democrat, and Sen. Denise Ricciardi, a Bedford Republican, received New Futures’ Legislators of the Year Award in recognition of their leadership in driving historic investments in child care and other family supports and services.
“This year, Sen. Whitley and Sen. Ricciardi showed the true meaning of bipartisanship,” said Michele D. Merritt, New Futures’ President. “From day one, these two champions put aside partisan differences and came together to benefit our children and families. Because of their work together, families across the state now have better access to quality, affordable childcare, and new mothers will receive the services they need. Our children, our families and our state as a whole will benefit for years to come because of the work Sen. Whitley and Sen. Ricciardi have done together.”
Under Sen. Whitley and Sen. Ricciardi’s leadership, the state legislature invested more than $60.5 million this year in child care and child and maternal health services. Their bills — the Child Care for N.H. Working Families Act (SB 237) and the Momnibus (SB 175) — both passed the Senate unanimously, and both were written into the State Budget, investing $15 million in child care workforce, $4 million in family resource centers, and $1.5 million post-partum care, among other expenditures.
“There is no one solution to New Hampshire’s child care crisis. However, the collaborative work done this session addressed the most pressing needs,” said Sen. Whitley. “Because of this collaboration, the N.H. Legislature made historic investments in families and early childhood.
“There has never been a greater need for the legislature to act in helping moms and their babies. That’s why I was so proud to co-sponsor this bill – and deliver,” Sen. Ricciardi said of the Momnibus. “This bill is pro-mom, pro-baby, pro-family, pro-workforce, and pro-economy. … We are a state once again that is family first.”
ABOUT NEW FUTURES
New Futures is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that works to improve the health and well-being of all Granite Staters through public policy change and civic empowerment. The organization’s Legislator(s) of the Year Award honors lawmakers who have a complex understanding of and work to address issues affecting New Futures’ mission. Learn more at www.new-futures.org
