Language can be a barrier to childcare. New report explores what NH can learn from other states.

A new report from the Carsey School of Public Policy examines the barriers preventing non-English-speaking childcare providers and families from accessing childcare systems and resources, and what the other 49 states and Washington, D.C., have done to remove those barriers. 

The process for figuring out childcare can be complicated. In addition to finding an affordable program with capacity, families also have to navigate financial assistance and other government forms and consider care compatibility. 

The brief, “Solutions From Across the United States to Improve Language Access in Child Care Systems,” found that there is an increased communication barrier surrounding childcare infrastructure for non-native English speakers. The report analyzes solutions individual states have taken to promote language access for both families and providers. 

Evan England is assistant director for the Center of Social Policy in Practice within the Carsey School and one of the co-authors of the report. They said language barriers are also an inhibitor to families accessing childcare. 

“It’s really commonplace in New Hampshire that we understand that access to childcare is something that we need to be talking about and that there are some really common barriers that families experience, like cost or availability,” England said. “But if we really want all families to have access, there are other things that are really important too, and language access is one of them.”

The report identified five strategies some states have incorporated into their systems: giving families easy access to resources in different languages from first contact; having system-wide navigation and translation resources; supporting the supply of language-diverse childcare programs; tracking and promoting language access across state systems; and clarity in who is in charge of making it all work. 

In practice, this looks different across every state, and England wrote that not every state is doing all five strategies at the same time. Childcare funding at the federal and state levels gives programs and governments flexibility in how they execute different ideas. 

For example, families in Massachusetts have access to language interpretation from when they are first entering the childcare system. They are provided financial assistance across multiple languages on their websites. 

In Washington state, the government offers a Dual Language Designation program as a way to incentivize them to grow the supply of language-diverse care. Participating providers get access to training, coaching, recognition and funding opportunities to provide multilingual care. 

England said the goal of the research is to determine how practices in other states could be replicated in New Hampshire. 

“New Hampshire is unique in a lot of ways, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t things that we can learn from other states,” they said. “Every state approaches language access a little bit differently, and so we can all learn from each other. It’s not only about New Hampshire; it’s about all of us learning different strategies.”

The Carsey School is currently working on New Hampshire-related language access research, which is expected to be published in the coming months.