New Mexico is set to become the first state in the nation to offer free child care to all residents regardless of income, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham announced this week. The universal program is scheduled to launch in November.
This initiative eliminates all income eligibility requirements from the state’s child care assistance program and waives family copayments. The move is expected to save families an average of $12,000 per child annually.
“Child care is essential to family stability, workforce participation and New Mexico’s future prosperity,” Lujan Grisham said in the announcement. “By investing in universal child care, we are giving families financial relief, supporting our economy, and ensuring that every child has the opportunity to grow and thrive.”
The state has been progressively expanding access to affordable child care since establishing the Early Childhood Education and Care Department in 2019. While the federal government provides limited funding to states for low-income families, most Americans pay an average of $13,000 a year for child care, with costs being significantly higher in many areas. In the absence of a federal system, New Mexico has emerged as a leader in creating a state-level solution.
The program is supported by a significant financial commitment. The Early Childhood Education and Care Department’s operating budget recently increased by $113 million to nearly $1 billion, with half of that total dedicated to child care payment support. Funding will also be drawn from a state fund for early childhood education, established in 2020 with revenue from the oil and gas industries, which has grown from $320 million to $10 billion. A 2022 constitutional amendment, championed by Latina leaders, guarantees that a portion of this fund is used for universal child care. A spokesperson for the governor confirmed that Lujan Grisham will request an additional $120 million in state funding next year.
To support the expansion, the state is also launching measures to increase child care capacity and improve quality. These include a $13 million loan fund for constructing and expanding facilities, a recruitment campaign for home-based providers, and incentives for programs to pay staff a minimum of $18 an hour. The state aims to create 55 new child care centers and 1,120 home-based options.
The initiative has received a mixed response. Republican state Rep. Rebecca Dow told the Albuquerque Journal that she believes child care vouchers should be reserved for children most at risk of abuse and neglect. The Journal also reported that as eligibility expanded over the past five years, participation among low-income families has decreased.
However, Thora Walsh Padilla, president of the Mescalero Apache Tribe, praised the program during a press conference. She noted it addresses critical challenges for the tribe, including the need for higher provider wages and more facilities on its 463,000-acre reservation, which currently has only three.
“It is so timely and it answers so many needs,” she said. “A building? Oh my goodness, we’ll be one of the first to apply.”
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