New Mexico has become the first state in the United States to offer free child care to all families, saving families about $12,000 a year. The move was made to allow New Mexico families to work, continue their education and “lift the state out of poverty.”
New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, speaking about the free-for-all child care program, said child care is “the backbone of creating a support system for families that allows them to work, go to college, do whatever they need to do to continue to lift New Mexico out of poverty.”
She said, “Child care is essential to family stability, workforce engagement and New Mexico’s future prosperity. By investing in universal child care, we provide financial relief to families, support our economy and ensure every child has the opportunity to grow and thrive.”
What does the free childcare program offer?
As part of New Mexico’s free child care program, families receive state vouchers to cover public and private child care fees, regardless of income.
It caps years of New Mexico efforts to expand free child care since the state created the Department of Early Childhood Education and Care in 2019.
Connecticut recently passed a law that allows free child care for families making less than $100,000 a year, and no more than 7 percent of income for those making more.
New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani proposed free universal child care.
How does it increase savings?
Taos special educator Allyson O’Brien expects to save about $12,000 a year on child care bills for her son Otis, who is nearly 2-½, Reuters wrote.
She and her husband, Shawn O’Kelly, a truck driver, earn just above New Mexico’s former income limit for free child care — about $129,000 a year for a family of four.
“We’re going to be able to go on vacation, we’re not going to have to decide what bills to pay, like if we’re going to do the propane or the mortgage?” O’Brien said.
The state is reportedly establishing a $12.7 million low-interest loan fund to build, expand and renovate child care facilities “with an additional $20 million requested in the fiscal year 2027 budget.”
“More centers are coming,” Alison McPartlon, director of the University of New Mexico-Taos Kids’ Campus, said.
To build infant and toddler care offerings, New Mexico is “partnering with employers and school districts to expand child care options for working families, as well as launching a statewide campaign to recruit licensed and registered home providers.”
