On October 5, Congresswoman Annie Kuster (NH-02) visited Little Antlers Learning Center in Plymouth to tour the child care center and meet with its staff and staff from Mid-State Health, which operates the facility. Recently, with the help of federal funding Rep. Kuster advocated for and helped to secure, Little Antlers Learning Center was relocated to a bigger and newly-renovated green energy facility, enabling them to triple their capacity and provide child care for more than 60 children in the community.
“Child care is essential for Granite State families and far too many are grappling with a lack of affordable child care options in communities throughout our state,” said Rep. Kuster. “Expanding access to high-quality, affordable child care is one of my top priorities, and I was proud to help advocate for and secure federal funding for Little Antlers Learning Center to upgrade and expand their facility, tripling the number of children who can learn and thrive at their facility. Thank you to the leaders from Little Antlers and Mid-State Health who took the time to meet with me. I look forward to continuing these conversations and working to make child care more affordable and expand access for hard-working New Hampshire families.”
“Mid-State Health Center is proud to be on the leading edge of expanding high-quality childcare in our rural region. At Little Antlers, we believe every child deserves a strong educational foundation to set them up for a successful and healthy future. We are grateful for the Congresswoman’s support for children and families across our Granite State,” said Robert MacLeod, DHA, Chief Executive Officer of Mid-State Health Center.
Rep. Kuster helped to support the expansion of Little Antlers Learning Center through USDA Rural Development funds as well as a Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC) grant awarded in 2021. Little Antlers Learning Center – formerly known as the Mid-State Children’s Learning Center – is a non-profit child care center that has been providing child care to the community for over 14 years. The new facility allowed the center to triple the number of children they provide care for and teach, expanding access to affordable child care to dozens of low-to-moderate earning families in rural communities throughout Grafton County.
Through her work in Congress, Kuster has fought to expand access to high-quality, affordable child care, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. She helped to secure funding for child care through the CARES Act and American Rescue Plan Act.