New Mexico on Saturday became the first U.S. state to offer free child care to all residents in a bid to boost its economy and lift education and child welfare levels ranked the worst in the country.
Under the program, families, regardless of income, can receive state vouchers to cover public and private child care fees. It culminates efforts New Mexico has made to expand access to free child care since the governor and state legislature created the Early Childhood Education and Care Department in 2019.
The launch comes as other Democratic-run states, cities and counties eye a step popular among working families. Connecticut recently passed a bill making child care free for those families earning under $100,000 per year and no more than 7% of income for those earning more. New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has proposed no-cost universal child care.
Big savings for families
Taos special education teacher Allyson OBrien expects to save around $12,000 a year in child care bills for her son Otis, who is nearly 2 1/2. She and her husband Shawn OKelly, a truck driver, earn a fraction above New Mexicos previous income cap for free child care, which was about $129,000 per year for their family of four.
Well be able to go on vacation. We wont have to decide what bills were going to pay, like, are we going to do propane or the mortgage? OBrien said.
To achieve a fully universal system, New Mexico must create nearly 14,000 more child care slots and recruit 5,000 educators, according to its Democratic-run government. The state is establishing a $12.7 million low-interest loan fund to construct and expand child care facilities. It is also increasing reimbursement rates to providers that pay entry-level staff a minimum of $18 per hour, above the states $12 hourly minimum wage, and offer full-time care.
Alison McPartlon, director of the University of New Mexico-Taos Kids Campus child care center, said her waiting list is so long some children do not get in before they start kindergarten. She said higher reimbursement rates will help her retain and recruit educators.
There will be more centers coming up, said McPartlon, describing the shift to universal child care as incredible.
Addressing poverty
New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham told reporters child care was the backbone of creating a system of support for families that allows them to work, to go to college, to do all the things they need to do to continue to lift New Mexico out of poverty.
Nearly 18% of New Mexicans live below the poverty line, according to the U.S. Census, making it one of the poorest states.
Slightly larger in area than the United Kingdom, with only 2.1 million people, the state will fund universal child care estimated to cost $600 million annually largely with interest from its Early Childhood Education and Care Fund.
The fund has grown to around $10 billion primarily from oil and gas taxes since it was set up in 2020. The sector generates about half of total state revenue.
It will also draw from another large trust fund and seek appropriations from the Democratic-controlled state legislature.
Research shows quality child care lifts education outcomes, especially among low-income families, according to Philip Fisher, a professor of early childhood learning at Stanford University.
Reading levels of New Mexican students fall far below the national average when children are first tested around age 8 or 9, according to studies by Neal Halfon, professor of pediatrics at the University of California, Los Angeles.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation, opens new tab has, for years, ranked New Mexico last among states in both education and child wellbeing.
New Mexico joins countries such as Norway and Belgium that offer free universal child care for children under 3, and Bulgaria, where early childhood education is free for all children until elementary school. New Mexico is going further by offering no-cost child care for children up to age 13.
Critics such as New Mexico state Rep. Rebecca Dow, a Republican, say families should be given a choice between a monthly $1,200 state tax credit for a parent to stay home with a child the equivalent cost of state-funded child care or free child care. She said research showed the best place for a young child was at home in a healthy, safe household.
Dow, the founder of a daycare center, supports targeted state-funded care where that is not the case.
Why not try a conservative approach of an equal tax credit for mom to be home? said Dow, who sees a shortage of daycare slots hampering the universal program. There is no capacity. People are going to be disappointed.
Why not try a conservative approachBecause they don't fucking work , Becksy Dowsy.
The fund has grown to around $10 billion primarily from oil and gas taxes since it was set up in 2020. The sector generates about half of total state revenue.
To achieve a fully universal system, New Mexico must create nearly 14,000 more child care slots and recruit 5,000 educators, according to its Democratic-run government. The state is establishing a $12.7 million low-interest loan fund to construct and expand child care facilities. It is also increasing reimbursement rates to providers that pay entry-level staff a minimum of $18 per hour, above the states $12 hourly minimum wage, and offer full-time care.
Dow, the founder of a daycare center, supports targeted state-funded care where that is not the case.Why would someone that owns a daycare business object to this at all?
* Increasing supply of child care facilities in order to help keep costs low while increasing pay for the workersThere's also some action to get the state to declare itself a sanctuary state for LGBTQIA+ people.
* Using oil and gas money to fund the expense
* Not income means tested
Seems like a good plan as far as I'm concerned.
Because they don't fucking work , Becksy Dowsy.Do you think stay at home moms that do home schooling should get money?
And we as a state already told the conservative approach to go fuck a cactus.
Do you think stay at home moms that do home schooling should get money?Why not?
Do you think stay at home moms that do home schooling should get money?Are you trying to gotcha me, or what's the actual game plan here?
Critics such as New Mexico state Rep. Rebecca Dow, a Republican, say families should be given a choice between a monthly $1,200 state tax credit for a parent to stay home with a child the equivalent cost of state-funded child care or free child care. She said research showed the best place for a young child was at home in a healthy, safe household.
We've got a pretty massive brain drain issue, we've got laws on the books where we refuse to cooperate with out-of-state prosecution on the subject, and there's a LOT of people trying to flee shithole states, especially educators and medical professionals.Yeah, New Mexico , like many other States, seems to have an issue of a lack of high paying jobs within the State
This is a great use of our tax dollars. Not Trump's stupid Mar a Lago parties.Your tax dollars have nothing to do with it, it's funded by oil revenue out of the Permian Basin.