ECECD News:

SILVER CITY — New Mexico’s Early Childhood Education and Care Advisory Council on Wednesday outlined efforts to expand access, improve program quality and support its early childhood workforce as the state prepares to implement universal child care Nov. 1.

Council members discussed several initiatives aimed at strengthening New Mexico’s child care system and ensuring universal access, including a newly launched low-interest child care revolving loan. The fund will help providers expand, renovate or build facilities to meet the increasing child care demand.

“Universal child care is about making good on New Mexico’s commitment to families and educators,” said Early Childhood Education and Care Department (ECECD) Dep. Sec. Kendal Chavez. “Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham set out to transform early childhood in our state, and with this expansion we are completing a promise that will create lasting opportunity for children and benefit generations to come.”

The council also received an update on the redesign of FOCUS, New Mexico’s quality rating and improvement system for early childhood programs. ECECD leadership noted that the redesign is moving on an independent timeline from universal child care.

“New Mexico is making significant investments in building a robust future for early childhood education,” said Dr. Cindy Martinez, Advisory Council member and director of the New Mexico Center of Excellence for Early Childhood Education. “These initiatives—including increased reimbursement rates, improvements to facilities, and a revamped quality system—aim to foster an environment that allows providers to flourish, educators to develop, and ultimately, children and families to reap the rewards.”

In addition to these discussions, the agenda included:

• Regional highlights from the Community Partnership for Children and the New Mexico Center for Excellence in Early Childhood Education at Western New Mexico University.
• Subcommittee updates on data collection for the Early Development Instrument and Childhood Early Experiences Questionnaire, ECECD data dashboards, and the wage scale and career lattice framework.
• A report on home visiting program standards.

The council’s next meeting is scheduled for from 1 to 4 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 10, in Albuquerque.

Find more information about the council, its activities and publications, including the latest annual report, on the council webpage: Early Childhood Education and Care Advisory Council | Early Childhood Education & Care Department

The advisory council is composed of state and local education leaders, early childhood professionals, service providers, Tribal representatives, parent representatives and other individuals representing communities impacted by early care and education policies. The council engages with a wide range of stakeholders to guide and build upon the state’s ongoing work to create a comprehensive, affordable and high-quality prenatal-to-5 system that meets the needs of New Mexico’s children and families. The Early Childhood Education and Care Advisory Council fulfills a federal requirement for states to establish a state advisory early childhood council.