Name: Every New Mexico family will soon have free child care
Uploaded: 2025-10-30T00:13:46.132Z
Duration: 2 min 18 s
Description: Parents in New Mexico will no longer have to pay for child care starting next week, regardless of their income, making the Land of Enchantment the first state in the nation to offer free universal child care.

Parents in New Mexico will no longer have to pay for child care starting next week, regardless of their income, making the Land of Enchantment the first state in the nation to offer free universal child care.

New Mexico

New Mexico will soon provide free universal child care to every family in the state, making it the first in the US to do so. The program eliminates child care costs for all families, regardless of income, and is funded by state oil and gas revenues. 

The initiative is designed to support working parents, with average savings estimated at $12,000 per year per family. In addition to covering costs, the program will expand the pool of licensed child care providers, including qualified family members, to meet increased demand. State officials highlight the program as an investment in the workforce and the broader economy.

Every New Mexico family will soon have free child care

For working parents, child care could take a big chunk out of the family budget, $15,000 a year or more in some cases, for just one child. Now New Mexico is about to become the first state in the nation to offer free universal child care. Janet Chamlin has more about it and who's paying for it. The parents of these children and every child in New Mexico will no longer have to pay for their care starting next week, regardless of income. We met New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, champion for the change, at a child care center in Santa Fe. What will it save families? Basically, on average in New Mexico, it's about $12,000 a year. In 41 states in America, your child care payment is more than your mortgage payment. Teachers Hannah Meierle and Nathan Herzog know that math all too well. They pay more than $14,000 a year for their toddler, Atticus. It is all of the leftover budget that we have. Yeah, it's second to our mortgage. The plan is paid for by New Mexico's oil and gas revenues. How much of this is about improving the economy? All sectors of our economy are over performing. You can't stay the course there unless you have a robust early childhood and child care setting. Nationwide, about 67% of women with children under five are in the labor force. A number that's declined over the past few years. The program goes beyond covering the cost. It's expanding who can provide care, licensing more facilities, including qualified family members, to meet demand. For opponents who say this is just another Democratic handout, you say what? I say it's a Democrat that's got twice the national average in economic output. This is about investing in mothers and fathers being able to go back to the workforce. For Meierle and Herzog, it's a chance to think beyond their next paycheck. It gives us some relief. It's the first time that we can really start thinking about how do I prepare for Atticus's future? A bold experiment in early education and a test of whether investing in families can help an entire state grow. Janet Shamley in CBS News, New Mexico.

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