New Mexico to be first state to launch universal child care system, governor announces

SANTA FE — Starting this fall, New Mexico will become the first state in the nation to launch a universal child care system providing no-cost child care for all families statewide.

The initiative, announced Monday by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, is set to take effect Nov. 1 and marks the latest step in the governor’s effort to dramatically expand child care assistance in New Mexico.

Specifically, it will remove an existing income threshold of 400% of the federal poverty level in order to receive child care assistance eligibility, paving the way for an additional 12,000 children statewide to qualify for no-cost child care.

“The blueprint for early childhood education in America is happening right here in New Mexico,” Lujan Grisham said during a Monday news conference at the state Capitol.

She also cited related initiatives aimed at boosting the pay levels of early childhood workers to at least $18 per hour, and increasing the number of licensed child care centers and registered homes around the state.

But the “free” universal child care system is expected to carry a hefty price tag for the state to implement.

The Early Childhood Education and Care Department currently spends about $463 million — or nearly half its budget — on child care assistance to support families. The governor plans to request an additional $120 million during the 30-day session that starts in January to fully implement universal child care, a Lujan Grisham spokesman said.

Lt. Gov. Howie Morales defended the cost during Monday’s news conference, saying, “It’s not an expenditure, it’s an investment.”

In addition, the governor’s administration has targeted building 55 more licensed child care centers and registering 1,000 new in-home day cares to accommodate the influx of additional families.

To accomplish that goal, ECECD Secretary Elizabeth Groginsky cited legislation passed during this year’s 60-day session allowing a loan program to be used to help build new child care facilities and expand existing ones. On top of $13 million this year, the governor’s administration plans to seek an additional $20 million for the program in the coming budget year.

The state also plans to launch a recruitment campaign for new licensed and registered home day care providers.

The governor was joined by several legislators and tribal leaders for her Monday announcement, including Mescalero Apache Nation President Thora Walsh Padilla.

“I really think this is huge,” said Padilla, who added the Mescalero Apache reservation currently has just three child care centers in an area of roughly 720 square miles. “It is so timely and it answers so many needs.”

Legislative reaction mixed

Whether the requested funding for the universal child care initiative is approved will be up to legislators, but lawmakers were not asked to approve the launch of the initiative itself.

Instead, the Lujan Grisham administration plans to start the program administratively, with the Early Childhood Education and Care Department expected to hold public rulemaking hearings in the coming months.

Rep. Rebecca Dow, R-Truth or Consequences, who founded an early childhood nonprofit organization, questioned whether the state should provide free child care for higher-income New Mexicans.

She said such investments should instead be targeted at the 20% or so of children in the state most at risk of child abuse and neglect.

“We now have universal vouchers for child care,” Dow said in a Monday interview. “How does this make sense in any way, shape or form?”

Recent legislative data shows the participation of low-income families in the state’s child care assistance program declined from 2019 as the state increased eligibility to slightly higher-income families.

Meanwhile, Dow also cited the recent retirement of Children, Youth and Families Secretary Teresa Casados, who tried to boost staffing levels in the troubled agency but faced criticism from some lawmakers amid a string of high-profile child abuse cases.

But several Democratic legislators lauded the governor’s announcement, with Rep. Charlotte Little, D-Albuquerque, citing her own past struggles to pay for child care.

In addition, Senate Majority Whip Michael Padilla, D-Albuquerque, said universal child care could make New Mexico a more attractive state for businesses and families.

Oil-funded early childhood initiatives

New Mexico lawmakers have taken several high-profile steps in recent years targeted at early childhood education.

Legislators approved creation of the Early Childhood Education and Care Department as a cabinet-level agency in 2019, then created a new early childhood trust fund in 2020.

That fund’s value has exploded from $300 million to roughly $10 billion over the last five years, due primarily to robust tax collections on oil and natural gas production.

At least some of the money for the universal child care initiative would come from that fund, though other state and federal funds could also be tapped, according to the Governor’s Office.

Meanwhile, the current income eligibility cap to qualify for child care assistance in New Mexico — about $120,000 per year for a family of four — was established by the Lujan Grisham administration in 2021.

However, some parents of young children have still struggled to find child care slots in New Mexico, due to “child care deserts” in which there are more than three children who need care for each available slot.

Groginsky said those deserts have been identified by her department, which plans to prioritize the areas with new child care centers and registered home day cares. She also said the agency is working with child care facility leaders and school superintendents to gauge need levels.

Currently, Bernalillo, Santa Fe, Sandoval, Lea and Eddy are New Mexico’s highest-need counties when it comes to additional child care slots, Groginsky said.