Not Kidding Around
When we had our daughter, we were extremely blessed to have a dear family friend and a wonderful aunt take turns caring for her after my wife had to return to teaching. It’s hard to leave your baby to go back to work, but it’s a little easier knowing they’re in great hands.
I can’t remember what we paid them, but it certainly wasn’t enough. Because childcare is so expensive, many families struggle to pay for it, on top of already large mortgage or rent payments.
Recognizing this conundrum, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham made affordable childcare a huge part of her platform when first running for office in 2018. After being elected, she helped create the Early Childhood Education and Care Department.
Then, in 2022, New Mexico voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment to allocate a portion of the state’s Land Grant Permanent Fund toward funding early childhood and public school education. The century-old endowment Fund was largely funded by taxes on oil and gas reserves.
As a result, the new ECEC Department was able to begin offering free childcare to most families in the state. New Mexico residents earning up to 400% of the federal poverty level, or annual household incomes of about $124,000, qualified for free childcare under the program, with any existing co-pays waived. The program aided thousands of families in the state with continuously rising childcare costs.
Now, New Mexico will become the first state in the country to guarantee universal childcare. Starting on November 1, families living in the Land of Enchantment are now eligible for free childcare for infants and toddlers, or reimbursement for their childcare costs. The program is available to all families, regardless of income level and with no co-pays. The measure is expected to save a typical New Mexico family over $12,000 per child per year.
“Childcare is essential to family stability, workforce participation, and New Mexico’s future prosperity,” New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a statement. “By investing in universal childcare, we are giving families financial relief, supporting our economy, and ensuring that every child has the opportunity to grow and thrive.”
The expansion will establish a new $13-million fund to construct new and expand and renovate existing childcare facilities. The program will also offer incentives to childcare centers to increase worker pay, such as paying entry-level staff a minimum of $18 per hour. Legislators hope the new program will help recruit additional caregivers, as the state is currently suffering a shortage of childcare workers.
Along with dollars from the Land Grant Permanent Fund, the governor will be asking for an additional $120 million at the next legislative session to help fund the new initiative.
While Lujan Grisham focused on childcare during her gubernatorial campaign seven years ago, the topic was certainly a hot button issue during the 2024 presidential campaign. Although other states have also greatly expanded universal early childhood education in recent years, New Mexico will be the first to actually guarantee it. Lujan Grisham is hoping their program will be a model for other states to follow.
While many have lauded the move to help families, detractors are critical that the program is available to everyone. Because higher-income families could receive free childcare, those who opposed the program have dubbed it “nannies for millionaires.”
My wife worked at a daycare center in college. She considered herself a sommelier, because she became an expert on whines.
Reg P. Wydeven
Latest posts by Reg P. Wydeven (see all)
- Not Forking Around - February 3, 2026
- Gnarly Lawsuit - January 27, 2026
- The Land of Make-Believe - January 20, 2026
- Labubu Boo-Boo - January 13, 2026
- A Whale of a Problem - January 6, 2026