Gabriela Muñoz Lopez used to pay $300 to $400 per month on child care for her two kids, a 7-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son.
Then, about a year ago, she says that monthly expense went away.
Muñoz Lopez, 41, and her family qualify for free child care in New Mexico, which in 2022 expanded its child care assistance program to families earning up to 400% of the federal poverty level, or $106,600 for a family of three.
For Muñoz Lopez, the savings every month means she has more money to put toward her kids, like for sports programs and other extra-curriculars. With her kids in reliable care, she scaled up her hours from a part-time schedule to work full-time, about 35 to 40 hours per week, at her waitressing job.
Starting Nov. 1, New Mexico is set to become the first state to extend free universal child care to all families, regardless of income level.
The move has been years in the making since Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham promised more investments in education, from early childhood to college, since first running for office in 2018.
In 2019, Lujan Grisham created a cabinet-level agency for early childhood, and in 2020, lawmakers allocated about $300 million of the state’s oil revenue to an Early Childhood Trust Fund, which has since grown to nearly $10 billion.
New Mexico’s latest child care initiative will establish a $12.7 million low-interest loan fund to renovate and build new child-care facilities, and offer more money to centers that pay $18 to $21 per hour for entry-level workers, among other objectives.
“I’m very grateful and I’m very happy and that we have been able to achieve universal child care and that it’s free,” Muñoz Lopez tells CNBC Make It through a Spanish language interpreter with Olé, a New Mexico nonprofit that advocates on behalf of working families.
12,000 children will qualify for free care, saving families $13,000 a year
New Mexico officials say the expansion of its existing program will make more than 12,000 more children eligible for free care. It would save families an average of $13,000 a year in a state where the median family income is just above $64,000 annually, The Washington Post reports.
Families in New Mexico that are working or in school can apply for child care assistance at any child care center, home-based provider, before- and after-school program and summer program licensed or registered by the Early Childhood Education and Care Department.
Patricia Bustillos Ramirez says her family will be among those newly eligible for free child care.
Bustillos Ramirez, 58, works for a nonprofit and recalls the challenges of finding affordable child care for her daughter when she was younger.
Now, Bustillos Ramirez has four grandchildren ranging from 1 to 6 years old. Her daughter qualifies for reduced child care rates and pays about $400 per month; come November, that monthly expense will be wiped out entirely.
She says her family will soon have more money for healthy food and gas, and her daughter will be able to work more reliable hours while her kids are in care.
Bustillos Ramirez says she’s been involved with Olé’s advocacy efforts to push for universal free child care for several years now. It’s important for her to show up at the New Mexico state capitol to represent parents and teachers who aren’t able to be there due to work and care needs.
“I have been able to go all the way there to bring banners, to do marches, to protest,” Bustillos Ramirez says. “Many don’t know that there are people who don’t have enough money to pay for day care. This is how we let them know.”
She adds that there’s more work to be done to ensure fair wages to educators and day-care operators.
More money for day-care businesses and workers
María Parra, 36, is the owner of Little Genius Daycare Center, which cares for kids are age 2 to 5.
She currently has one employee that she pays $15 per hour, above the state’s minimum wage of $12 per hour; with new funding from the state, Parra can raise her employee’s wages and might be able to hire another.
Parra also hopes new eligibility will bring more students to her facility, where she currently has eight kids enrolled but can accommodate up to 12. All of the children are from low-income families and qualify for care subsidies from the state.
Without the subsidies, it would cost a family between $600 and $1,175 per month to enroll their child at Little Genius.
The change will bring more stability to her business, Parra says, as well as more opportunities for children to learn, parents to study or work, and for educators to earn more money working at a care facility.
She says it’s important to her that New Mexico’s universal free child care is available no matter the child’s legal status in the U.S. Currently, only the child’s immigration status is considered for assistance eligibility, and the child must be a U.S. citizen, legal resident or qualified immigrant.
“I am very proud that New Mexico is the first state to provide free child care,” she says. “It’s investing in the future of the state for the families and the children.”
The program’s rules are still being finalized, and lawmakers still have to approve funding. A public hearing to discuss the proposed rule changes is set for Oct. 9, according to reporting from the Santa Fe New Mexican.
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