Universal Child Care Is Popular. New Mexico Showed Us How We Can Win It.

"Americans are used to struggling for basic necessities while their tax dollars fund wars and prop up big businesses. So when they are offered something as fundamental as child care at no additional cost, the response is often: " What's the catch?" That's how some residents of New Mexico are responding to a first-of-its-kind program in the United States where, starting on November 1, 2025, parents, regardless of their income, will be able to avail themselves of government-funded child care."

"While mainstream media outlets are crediting New Mexico's Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham with ushering in universal child care, it's crucial to recognize that a vibrant, grassroots, bottom-up movement began laying the ground work years earlier. Andrea Serrano is a lifelong New Mexican and executive director of OLÉ, which stands for "Organizers in the Land of Enchantment." She pointed out that "for years New Mexico teetered between 48th, 49th and 50th in the 'States for child wellbeing.'""

"To address such dire circumstances, social justice organizations (including OLÉ) in 2010 first introduced the idea of government-funded child care for all residents. "There is no reason why families should be having to choose between paying the rent or paying their mortgage and paying for child care," said Serrano. With the understanding that opposition to such a program would likely be based on its cost, organizers named a clearly identifiable funding source: royalties that oil and gas companies pay to New Mexico for leasing lands."

Starting November 1, 2025, parents in New Mexico will have access to government-funded child care regardless of income. Many residents responded with skepticism, asking "What's the catch?" Grassroots organizers first proposed universal publicly funded child care in 2010 to address severe child-wellbeing deficits. Andrea Serrano, executive director of OLÉ, highlighted New Mexico's chronic low rankings in child wellbeing. Organizers identified oil and gas lease royalties as a dedicated funding source. Organizers reframed child care as "early childhood education" to align public expectations with existing K–12 funding norms, positioning the program as an extension rather than a new entitlement.

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