Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham confirmed New Mexico’s Child Care Assistance Program expansion, intended to increase its eligibility by accepting tens of thousands of families that fall under as high as 400% poverty level, from 200%.
“This is the single largest eligibility expansion in the history of our child care assistance program,” Grisham said in a press release. “And this change establishes virtually universal free or reduced-cost child care in New Mexico for at least the next two years as our economy recovers and New Mexicans get back to work.”
In addition to raising the eligibility requirement from 200-350% of the federal poverty level beginning Aug. 1, New Mexico is set to phase out at 400% of the federal poverty level to help residents return to work and ensure that a slight increase in income will not mean losing child care for particular families, the press release said.
The state will use "a cutting-edge cost estimation model to set new child care subsidy rates paid to providers," and is the first in the nation to do this. The new rates will increase subsidy payments to provide and further allow for child care businesses to hire more high-quality child care providers, allowing child care agencies to provide more expansive, enhanced programs related to health and education at child care facilities, according to the press release.
The governor announced the agency’s enlargement a year following its launch. The initiative is aimed at reducing out-of-pocket child care costs for a large figure of middle-class New Mexico residents, celebrated by local families, business leaders, tribal leaders, early childhood providers, community leaders, and advocates as well as representatives of higher education institutions. Lt. Gov. Howie Morales, and advocate for early childhood development, Sen. Michael Padilla. Funds garnered for emergencies by the American Rescue Plan will be used to execute the changes.
Assistance program quality and availability are projected to spike further. The subsidy amount will depend upon the age of the child, type of child care, program location, and the rating of the child care facilities as determined by FOCUS. Eligibility Interviewers across various regional offices are tasked with determining subsidiaries for qualifying families. Further expansion and relocation plans will be solidified as a result of the expansion. More information on child care providers and programs can be found at www.nmececd.org.
“Today, we are closing gaps, reforming broken systems, and finding a balance that has eluded our early childhood education system for so long,” said Early Childhood Secretary Elizabeth Groginsky. “We still have much work to do, but right-sizing our child care assistance program for parents and providers is an important landmark on our journey towards creating a true cradle-to-career education system that helps all New Mexicans thrive.”