September 12, 2025
New Mexico is leading the charge and making history as the first state to offer free childcare.
In a historic first, New Mexico is offering free childcare to all residents, regardless of their income.
Beginning in November, New Mexico will launch a statewide program expected to save families $12,000 per child each year, 19th News reports. As part of the state’s ongoing efforts to reduce childcare costs, the initiative eliminates income eligibility requirements and waives all family copayments in the existing childcare assistance program.
“Child care is essential to family stability, workforce participation and New Mexico’s future prosperity,” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said when announcing the program. “By investing in universal child care, we are giving families financial relief, supporting our economy, and ensuring that every child has the opportunity to grow and thrive.”
This unprecedented move builds on New Mexico’s ongoing efforts to support childcare, including the creation of the Early Childhood Education and Care Department in 2019 and initiatives to expand eligibility for universal childcare. In the most recent legislative session, the department’s budget was increased by $113 million, bringing its total operating funds to nearly $1 billion.
Half of the funding is set aside for childcare payment support, while a separate fund launched in 2020 allocates money for early childhood education. With no federal universal childcare system in place, states must address the issue themselves, and New Mexico is leading the way.
“My hope is, as we watch elections take hold around the country, that our congressional candidates are talking about these investments, our gubernatorial candidates are talking about these investments” in childcare, Grisham said.
Although New Mexico faces a shortage of childcare workers, the state is stepping up recruitment and offering incentives to childcare centers, including a minimum pay of $18 per hour for entry-level staff. Grisham is requesting an additional $120 million in funding in the next legislative session to support the initiative. Meanwhile, state Republicans criticize offering the program to high-income families, calling the initiative “nannies for millionaires.”
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