Progress, Partnerships, and the Work Ahead
Over the past five years, New Hampshire has made meaningful strides in strengthening supports for the mental health and well-being of its youngest children and their families. A new assessment commissioned by the New Hampshire Children’s Health Foundation (NHCHF) provides an encouraging look at the progress that has been made since the Foundation’s 2019 review of the state’s Early Childhood and Family Mental Health (ECFMH) system—while also highlighting important challenges that remain.
From 2018 through 2025, NHCHF focused its grantmaking and partnerships on preventing and reducing childhood trauma by building stronger community systems that support resilience in children and caregivers. The Foundation’s original 2019 assessment, conducted in partnership with the Endowment for Health, identified a fragmented system marked by workforce shortages, limited recognition of professional credentials, and significant barriers that prevented many families from accessing services.
The new 2025 assessment, conducted by Health Resources in Action (HRiA), revisited the landscape to examine how the system has evolved and where future investments may be needed.