SANTA FE, NM (KRQE) – New Mexico has recently been raising child care costs for families across the state. Now, officials want public input to help ensure the state pays the right rates to cover the cost of care.
“New Mexico is making significant investments in child care because we understand that the cost of quality child care is out of reach for most families, and that providing quality care is essential to improving outcomes for young children and their families” New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department (ECECD) Cabinet Secretary Elizabeth Groginsky said in a press release. “We made child care free for most New Mexico families through our Child Care Assistance Program and calibrated our rates to support a living wage for early educators who care for young children during the most rapid and critical periods of their development.”
Families, business owners and other stakeholders can give their input through a medium Online survey at this link. Questions are available in both Spanish and English.
New Mexico has relied on similar surveys in the past to determine pay rates for child care workers. ECECD says the idea is to ensure that state-funded support covers the real cost of care.
