New Mexico to become the first state to offer universal child care

New Mexico will become the first state of the country to start offering a free universal daycare, said Democratic Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham.

The move comes back to an expansion of an existing program which entered into force three years ago which helped thousands of families in the state.

“Childcare is essential for family stability, the participation of the workforce and the future prosperity of the new-mexic,” said Lujan Grisham in a statement announcing the enlarged program on Monday. “By investing in universal childcare services, we grant families a financial relief, to support our economy and to ensure that each child has the opportunity to grow and prosper.”

From November, the State will offer childcare services, or the reimbursement of childcare costs, to each state family, regardless of income. Lujan Grisham’s office said that the program expansion will allow families of the state on average per year per year.

By announcing the initiative, the New Mexico will become the first state to guarantee a universal daycare, although other States led by Democrats have also considerably widened the universal education of early childhood in recent years. The program can offer a plan for other states on a question that was important during the 2024 presidential campaign.

Lujan Grisham campaigned on the question during his first race for the governor in 2018 and promulgated, as well as the legislature controlled by Democrat, the Department of Education and Early Childhood Care in 2019.

In 2022, the voters massively approved a constitutional amendment to allocate part of the permanent fund of the land subsidy of the State – an endowment of centenary largely funded by taxes on oil and gas reserves – to the financing of early childhood and public school education.

This decision allowed the new department to start offering free child care to most families in the state. As part of the program, residents of the New Mexico winning up to 400% of the level of federal poverty, or annual household revenues of around $ 124,000, qualified for free children, with any existing co-payment.

The announced expansion of this week will establish a new $ 13 million fund to build new childcare establishments and renovate and renovate childcare services. Lujan Grisham said that his budget next year is looking to extend the fund.

Neal Halfon, professor of pediatrics, public health and public policy at the University of California in Los Angeles, praised the expansion in a statement provided by the office of Lujan Grisham as a “model for the nation” – although such a program is difficult in many other states.

“The New Mexico creates the conditions for better results in terms of health, learning and well-being,” he added.