For the first time ever, New Mexico will make child care free, helping families save $12,000 per child
In a landmark decision, New Mexico is moving to make child care completely free.
Starting this November, it will become the first state in the U.S. to guarantee child care access for all residents regardless of income, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced earlier this week.
Since 2019, New Mexico has been steadily working to reduce the cost of child care by launching the Early Childhood Education and Care Department and broadening eligibility for its support programs. The new step eliminates income-based requirements from the state’s assistance program and waives all family copayments, effectively opening access to everyone.
The change is expected to save parents about $12,000 annually per child.
“Child care is essential to family stability, workforce participation and New Mexico’s future prosperity,” Lujan Grisham said in her 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.”
While the federal government provides limited funding to assist low-income families with child care, eligibility is narrow, leaving the majority of households paying an average of $13,000 a year. In many states, costs are even higher.
With no national universal child care system, New Mexico has been one of the leading states creating its own framework. The Early Childhood Education and Care Department saw its budget rise by $113 million in the last legislative session, pushing its total annual budget close to $1 billion, with half dedicated directly to child care payment support.
The state also set up a permanent fund in 2020 to secure money for early childhood education. Fueled by oil and gas tax revenues, that fund has grown dramatically from $320 million to $10 billion. Latinas in the state played a central role in 2022, helping pass a constitutional amendment to guarantee a share of the fund goes directly toward universal child care. Funding for the new initiative will come in part from this source, while the governor is also expected to request an additional $120 million in state funds next year, according to her office.
Alongside financial relief for families, the plan also targets improvements in facilities and workforce pay. A $13 million loan program will be set up to expand and build new child care centers, along with a recruitment drive for home-based providers. The state will also encourage programs to pay their staff at least $18 an hour.
Officials estimate the initiative will result in 55 new centers and over 1,100 additional home-based child care providers.
However, not everyone is on board. Republican state Rep. Rebecca Dow told the Albuquerque Journal that she believes subsidies should focus only on children at greatest risk of abuse or neglect. The Journal also reported that since eligibility expanded in recent years, fewer low-income families have enrolled in the program.
On the other hand, many community leaders praised the announcement. Thora Walsh Padilla, president of the Mescalero Apache Tribe, said at a press event that the initiative addresses long-standing challenges faced by her community, including low wages for providers. With just three child care centers on the 463,000-acre reservation, she described the support as a breakthrough.
“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.”
