In the USA First initiative, New Mexico is launching free child care for all
By Reuters | Published: 2025-11-02 15:31:00 | Source: Inc.com
New Mexico on Saturday became the first U.S. state to offer free child care to all residents in an effort to boost its economy and raise levels of education and child care that rank among the worst in the nation.
Under the program, families, regardless of their income, can receive government vouchers to cover public and private childcare fees. It culminates efforts New Mexico has made to expand access to free child care since the governor and state Legislature created the Department of Early Childhood Education and Care in 2019.
The launch comes as other Democratic-run states, cities and counties eye a move popular among working families. Connecticut recently passed a bill that makes child care free for those families making less than $100,000 a year and no more than 7 percent of income for those who earn more. New York mayoral candidate Zahran Mamdani has proposed providing universal child care for free.
Big savings for families
Allison O’Brien, a special education teacher in Taos, expects to save about $12,000 a year on child care bills for her son, Otis, who is about 2 1/2 years old. She and her husband, Sean O’Kelly, a truck driver, earn a fraction of New Mexico’s previous income maximum for free child care, which was about $129,000 a year for their family of four.
“We’ll be able to go on vacation, and we won’t have to decide what bills we’re going to pay, like, ‘Are we going to do the propane or the mortgage?'” O’Brien said.
To achieve a fully universal system, New Mexico must create nearly 14,000 additional child care places and hire 5,000 teachers, according to its Democratic-run government. The state is creating a $12.7 million low-interest loan fund to build and expand child care facilities. It is also increasing reimbursement rates for providers who pay entry-level employees at least $18 an hour, higher than the state minimum wage of $12 an hour, and provide full-time care.
Allison McPartlon, director of the child care center at UNM’s Taos Children’s Campus, said her waiting list is so long that some children don’t get in before starting kindergarten. She said higher reimbursement rates would help her retain and recruit teachers.
“There will be more centers coming,” McPartlon said, describing the shift to comprehensive care for children as “incredible.”
Addressing poverty
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham told reporters that child care is “the backbone of creating a support system for families that allows them to work, go to college, and do all the things they need to do to continue to lift New Mexico out of poverty.”
Nearly 18 percent of New Mexico’s population lives below the poverty line, according to the U.S. Census, making it one of the poorest states. An area slightly larger than the United Kingdom, with a population of only 2.1 million people,
The state will fund universal child care, which is estimated to cost $600 million annually, largely with benefits from the Early Childhood Education and Care Fund. The fund has grown to about $10 billion primarily from oil and gas taxes since its creation in 2020.
This sector generates about half of the state’s total revenues.
It will also draw from another large trust fund and seek appropriations from the Democratic-controlled state Legislature.
Research shows that quality child care raises educational outcomes, especially among low-income families, according to Philip Fisher, a professor of early childhood learning at Stanford University.
New Mexico students’ reading levels fall well below the national average when children are first tested around age 8 or 9, according to studies by Neil Halfon, a professor of pediatrics at the University of California, Los Angeles.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation has, for many years, ranked New Mexico last among states in both education and child well-being.
New Mexico joins countries like Norway and Belgium that offer free universal childcare for children under three, and Bulgaria, where early childhood education is free for all children up to elementary school. New Mexico goes further by offering free care for children up to age 13.
Critics, like New Mexico State Representative Rebecca Dow, a Republican, say families should be given a choice between a $1,200 monthly tax credit for parents to stay home with a child — equivalent to the cost of state-funded child care — or free child care. She said research has shown that the best place for a young child is at home in a healthy, safe family. Dow, a day care center provider, supports state-funded targeted care when that is not the case.
“Why don’t we try a conservative approach of getting an equal stay-at-home mom tax credit,” said Dow, who sees a shortage of daycare slots as holding back the comprehensive program. “There is no capacity. People will be disappointed
Andrew Hay reports in New Mexico; Edited by Donna Bryson and Rod Nickel
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