New Mexico Is the First State to Promise Free Child Care for All Families

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico’s governor is promising universal free child care to families of all income levels.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced her plans this week, saying she wants to leverage a financial windfall from oil and gas production to help more parents by removing the state’s income eligibility limit starting Nov. 1.

Rules for the program are being hashed out and lawmakers still have to approve funding, but New Mexico already is several steps ahead of other states when it comes to subsidizing child care.

The latest initiative expands on previous early childhood education investments by extending access to another 12,000 children and making low-interest loans available to spur construction of new child care centers as demands surge.

Lujan Grisham says it’s life-changing for parents to have free child care, since it means more money can be spent on utilities and groceries.