New Mexico’s Universal Childcare Program Sees Enrollment and Waitlists
Fifty percent of New Mexico’s children aged five and under are enrolled in the state’s universal childcare program, which offers free care to working or studying families regardless of income.
When New Mexico became the first state to offer free childcare to every family a year ago, parents like Judyn Martinez found it life-changing. “I’m really grateful for universal childcare because I wouldn’t have been able to send her,” Martinez told NPR, dropping her daughter off at Kids Campus in Santa Fe.
The state has about 67,000 children aged five and under, according to state figures. While the program eliminates financial barriers for half of those children through universal access, PreK, and Head Start, capacity constraints have left many families waiting.
Martinez waited roughly a year and a half to clear the waitlist for Kids Campus, which currently has nearly 700 children listed. Lilia Doyle, a children’s librarian in Santa Fe, told NPR that her two-year-old son sat on six different waitlists.
“I’m 97th on a multi-hundred person waitlist,” Doyle said. “I’m 75th on something. And some, I’m not even getting calls back.”
Funding From Oil and Gas Revenues
The path to universal care took shape when New Mexicans voted in 2022 to dedicate a portion of the state’s Land Grant Permanent Fund to early childhood education. That fund derives much of its revenue from taxes and royalties on oil and gas production.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced plans for universal childcare and prekindergarten in September 2025, launching the initiative on November 1 of that year. The Democrat-majority state legislature subsequently codified the program into law in March 2026.
The current operating budget approaches $600 million. State projections indicate the program is running about $50 million over budget this year.
That cost drew criticism from lawmakers such as state Sen. Steve Lanier, a Republican representing northwest New Mexico. Lanier unsuccessfully sued to halt the universal initiative.
“By calling it universal, all we’ve done is add the wealthier folks,” Lanier told NPR, questioning whether families earning hundreds of thousands of dollars require state assistance.
Supporters defend the universal model by framing early education as a public good comparable to K-12 schooling. “Nobody questions a wealthy family sending their kids to public school and it should be the same for early childhood,” Catron Allred, who oversees Kids Campus and Santa Fe Community College’s early childhood program, told NPR.
Capping Costs for High Earners
The state’s Early Childhood Education and Care Department said that copays will not exceed $148.50 per month. The adjustment affects roughly 10% of enrolled families and remains active through the fiscal year.
Governor Lujan Grisham described the rollout as stunningly well-received by families across the state. “I can’t go anywhere in New Mexico… where I don’t have a parent tell me that this is life-changing and transformative,” she told NPR.
Provider Shortages in Rural Communities
State officials acknowledge that workforce shortages and a lack of physical facilities limit expansion. Nearly half of U.S. children under five live in licensed childcare deserts where demand exceeds supply.
Olga Grays operates Mrs. Olga’s Daycare and fields daily calls from parents she cannot accommodate. “Every time somebody calls me, you know, I put their name and the age of their kids in that group,” Grays told NPR, referring to a messaging circle of 40 local providers.
“And I’m like, ‘Does anybody have openings?’ You know, but the sad thing is that not a lot of people have openings, especially for infants.”
In 2025, the Early Childhood Education and Care Department set a target to build 12,000 new childcare slots during the initial years of the program. Department officials report they are more than halfway toward meeting that goal without a fixed deadline.
“We need to keep growing,” Lujan Grisham told NPR. “It is not a stagnant set of opportunities.”