/tags/early-childhood-education-care-department Early Childhood Education & Care Department en-US Copyright Sat, 25 Oct 2025 22:43:53 GMT /local-news/2025-10-25/capacity-issues-may-limit-new-mexicos-universal-child-care-program Starting Nov. 1, New Mexico will offer free child care to every family in the state. There will be no fees to pay and no income limits to sign up. But the state might not have enough child care centers to actually take care of all the children whose families want help. Sat, 25 Oct 2025 22:43:53 GMT /local-news/2025-10-25/capacity-issues-may-limit-new-mexicos-universal-child-care-program Sana Dadani /show/lets-talk-new-mexico/2025-09-12/lets-talk-about-free-universal-child-care New Mexico has invested in early childhood education for years and now Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has announced that the state will soon offer no-cost universal childcare to every kid in the state. On the next Let’s Talk New Mexico we’ll dig into what this means for families and what infrastructure needs to be in place before the program begins November 1st. Fri, 12 Sep 2025 22:40:03 GMT /show/lets-talk-new-mexico/2025-09-12/lets-talk-about-free-universal-child-care /local-news/2025-09-09/new-mexico-will-offer-free-universal-childcare New Mexico has made major investments in early childhood and education programs and now it’s going to offer free universal child care to all families, regardless of income – the first such state to do so. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham made the announcement Monday. Tue, 09 Sep 2025 19:55:59 GMT /local-news/2025-09-09/new-mexico-will-offer-free-universal-childcare Taylor Velazquez /local-news/2025-07-18/native-american-early-childhood-education-secretary The Early Childhood Education and Care Department has a new assistant secretary focusing on the state’s Native communities. The office is designed to strengthen state-tribal early childhood partnerships and officials say it will be rooted in respect, sovereignty and collaboration, stemming from the 2019 law that created the department. °µºÚÍø spoke with Joannie Suina about what led her into this work and her future goals for the office. Sat, 19 Jul 2025 00:29:30 GMT /local-news/2025-07-18/native-american-early-childhood-education-secretary Taylor Velazquez /local-news/2023-05-31/new-mexico-pre-k-programs-receive-high-rankings-in-national-report A national policy institute has recognized the state’s efforts in establishing free, universal pre-K with high rankings in a new report. Secretary Elizabeth Groginsky with the Early Childhood Education and Care Department spoke about what it means to create a high quality PreK program. Wed, 31 May 2023 18:20:03 GMT /local-news/2023-05-31/new-mexico-pre-k-programs-receive-high-rankings-in-national-report Taylor Velazquez /local-news/2023-05-22/early-childhood-education-and-care-secretary-talks-about-stabilizing-families-with-new-funds °µºÚÍø recently explored the many problems with the state’s foster care system on several Let’s Talk New Mexico shows. But the state is also investing tens of millions of dollars into early childhood care and education and we wanted to see how that might help stabilize families before foster care enters the picture. Mon, 22 May 2023 23:57:00 GMT /local-news/2023-05-22/early-childhood-education-and-care-secretary-talks-about-stabilizing-families-with-new-funds Taylor Velazquez /local-news/2023-03-13/bill-for-native-american-early-childhood-education-heads-to-the-governors-desk A bill that would provide funding for tribes to establish early childhood programs with culturally relevant education has passed both chambers of the legislature. Tue, 14 Mar 2023 04:26:29 GMT /local-news/2023-03-13/bill-for-native-american-early-childhood-education-heads-to-the-governors-desk Jeanette DeDios /local-news/2023-02-14/private-childcare-businesses-call-for-a-tax-break-to-even-out-with-nonprofits Childcare is expensive. But in New Mexico, the Early Childhood Education and Care Department provides subsidies to help contractors meet the needs of many families. All programs that provide the same services in the same type of facility for the same age groups get the same amount, but for-profit providers pay tax on those state dollars that nonprofit and government programs do not. Private providers are now asking the state Legislature to change that. Wed, 15 Feb 2023 04:04:30 GMT /local-news/2023-02-14/private-childcare-businesses-call-for-a-tax-break-to-even-out-with-nonprofits Nash Jones /local-news/2022-12-06/early-childhood-secretary-lays-out-plans-for-increased-funding New Mexico voters approved a constitutional amendment in November that will start funneling $230 million more to early childhood education. However, that money won’t be seen for a while. The Early Childhood and Care Department has set a five-year plan to build a more robust workforce and provide competitive salaries in order to sustain the state’s early childhood education sector. Wed, 07 Dec 2022 00:34:29 GMT /local-news/2022-12-06/early-childhood-secretary-lays-out-plans-for-increased-funding Taylor Velazquez /show/lets-talk-new-mexico/2022-11-16/lets-talk-how-to-use-new-education-dollars On this week’s Let's Talk New Mexico, we look at what happens next now that voters approved a constitutional amendment to funnel more money from the Land Grant Permanent Fund into early childhood education and public schools. Wed, 16 Nov 2022 20:45:38 GMT /show/lets-talk-new-mexico/2022-11-16/lets-talk-how-to-use-new-education-dollars Kaveh Mowahed, Megan Kamerick