New Mexico has made major investments in early childhood and education programs and now it’s going to offer free universal child care to all families, regardless of income – the first such state to do so. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham made the announcement Monday.
The state will officially remove income eligibility requirements from its child care assistance program, which the governor said will save families on average $12,000 per child.
“It’s the difference between making it. When inflation in this country remains too high particularly in the areas utilities and food,” said Lujan Grisham.
This announcement is years in the making when the Legislature created the Early Childhood Education and Care Department in 2019.
Lujan Grisham underscores that without voters' decision to use some funding from the land grant permanent fund and continued investment from the legislature this would not be sustainable.
“If we don’t have a little bit of money out of the Permanent Fund and we don’t have the trust fund, and you don’t make appropriations to this priority, it doesn’t stay,” said Lujan Grisham.
The Land Grant Permanent Fund is an educational endowment. In a 2022 constitutional amendment, voters approved allocating 1.25% of the fund annually to early childhood education. This move made New Mexico the first state to guarantee the right to early childhood education. It’s estimated that the permanent fund grows 11% per year.
The governor offered this advice to lawmakers moving forward,
“Stay the course,” Lujan Grisham said.
New Mexico lawmakers established the Early Childhood Trust Fund in 2020 that would guarantee stable funding as it is not dependent on annual budget cycles. The Early Childhood and Education Department was allocated $320 million, but now has $10 billion. increased the annual distribution of $500 million or 5% to the fund’s existing balance
State Sen. Michael Padilla (D-Albuquerque) said that these investments will reduce major issues like child abuse, domestic violence, and childhood poverty.
“Every New Mexico child, regardless of where they come from, where they were born, who their family was, how long they’ve been here, or how short they’ve been here, just obtained the golden ticket, from pre-natal all the way through to a phenomenal job in their future,” said Padilla.
Dr. Neal Halfon, a professor of pediatrics in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, was present at the governor’s announcement. He said New Mexico is the first state to put a blueprint together of all the research around early childhood development and education.
“So that you have an ecosystem of early childhood supports that are really important because they embrace the whole child, they support families, and they scaffold communities in ways so that everyone is part of this process moving forward,” said Dr. Halfon.
The program includes incentives for programs that boost pay for entry-level staff to at least $18 per hour and also commit to being open at least 10 hours a day. Lujan Grisham said that this also allows early childcare professionals more pay and respect.
“These are industries that are professional. They’re the brain architects of these little ones and for far too long in America we have treated these professionals as babysitters. Paying them minimum wage or far below the compensation levels for professionals,” Lujan Grisham said.
It’s estimated that the state will need an additional 5,000 early childhood professionals to achieve a universal system. There will be a statewide campaign to recruit licensed and registered home providers as well.
Other areas of investment include a $12.7 million low-interest loan fund for local governments and schools to construct, expand, and renovate child care facilities, with an additional $20 million requested in the fiscal year 2027 budget.
Infants, toddlers, low-income families, and those children with special needs will be a target for growth.
The state currently waives copays for families who make up to 400% of the federal poverty level. This new program will launch beginning November 1st.
The Republican Party of New Mexico issued a statement noting that the move by the governor will require legislation before becoming permanent law.
“RPNM absolutely supports families in need of childcare assistance so that parents can work and/or go to school. But this latest move by the governor misses the mark by pushing New Mexico into government dependency at a cost of millions of dollars to taxpayers,” wrote RPNM Chair Amy Barela.
Barela added that childcare assistance should serve the neediest families and universal childcare is a “permanent handout for the wealthy to pay for their own in-home nannies.”
Support for this coverage comes from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
