Let’s Talk New Mexico 9/18, 8am: New Mexico has invested in early childhood education for years and now Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has announced that the state will soon offer no-cost universal childcare to every kid in the state.
This decision makes New Mexico the first state in the nation to remove income eligibility requirements from its child care assistance program and continue the waiver of family copayments. The Governor has estimated that this will save families on average $12,000 per child.
The state has taken steps since 2019 to build universal childcare, beginning with the creation of the Early Childhood Education and Care Department in 2019 and the establishment of the Early Childhood Trust Fund in 2020 that guarantees stable funding not dependent on budget cycles. Also after years of advocacy to use more money for early childhood education from the Land Grant Permanent Fund, a constitutional amendment went to voters in 2022, who approved it.
Supporters of the program point to studies that show investing more in early childhood programs can reduce issues like child abuse, domestic violence, and childhood poverty. But critics say the cost to taxpayers is too high and universal free childcare could possibly create too much dependency on the government.
On the next Let’s Talk New Mexico we’ll dig into what this means for families and what infrastructure needs to be in place before the program begins November 1st. How will your family benefit from universal childcare? Do you have questions or criticisms about the program? Email us at LetsTalk@kunm.org, leave a voice message by clicking the button below, or call in live Thursday morning at 8.