Recently, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham introduced a plan to provide taxpayer-funded “free” child care for all residents of the state, regardless of income. This move expands on an existing program that, since 2022, has offered subsidized child care to families earning up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level. According to current guidelines, this threshold allows a family of three to earn as much as $106,600 annually and still qualify for assistance. The median household income in New Mexico is $62,268, meaning the new policy will also benefit higher-income families.
The annual cost of current child-care assistance programs in New Mexico is $463 million. Expanding these services universally is expected to add another $120 million per year in expenses and require a one-time capital outlay of $20 million.
Governor Lujan Grisham’s decision comes at a time when the state continues to rank low in several key indicators related to child welfare and education. The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2025 “Kids Count” report placed New Mexico last among all states for children’s conditions. The state has also experienced a significant decline—5.9 percent—in its population aged 0–18 between 2020 and 2024.
Since taking office in 2019, Governor Lujan Grisham pledged improvements through what she called a “moonshot for education.” However, results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress in both 2022 and 2024 showed New Mexico scoring lowest nationwide in fourth and eighth grade reading and math.
Despite these challenges, the state has benefited financially from an oil and gas boom that has made it second only to Texas in national oil production over the past decade. As a result, government spending on education has increased by about 70 percent under Lujan Grisham’s administration.
The Children Youth and Families Department (CYFD), responsible for responding to reports of child abuse and neglect as well as overseeing foster care and adoption services, faced criticism earlier this year after five children died while under state care. CYFD Secretary Teresa Casados resigned following these incidents. In response to the death of a four-month-old child in June, Attorney General Raúl Torrez launched an investigation into CYFD’s practices, stating: “this is just another example of the state failing in its most fundamental obligation.”
New Mexico is among few states offering universal pre-Kindergarten programs funded by taxpayers for three- and four-year-olds. However, there is little evidence that these programs have led to improved long-term outcomes for participating children; academic performance metrics remain low compared with other states.
Paul J. Gessing, president of the Rio Grande Foundation based in Albuquerque, commented: “Ultimately, this expansion of the state’s already generous ‘free’ child-care program to wealthy New Mexicans may generate positive headlines about Lujan Grisham. But New Mexico’s track record of competently delivering services to help its children is poor to say the least.”
