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The state of New Mexico in 2025 made headlines for being the first in the nation to enact free universal child care. A 12-year-long grassroots push by advocacy groups and activists to address the dismal state of child well-being resulted in Gov. Michele Lujan Grisham signing a bill to expand eligibility for no-cost, government-provided child care to all the state’s residents, regardless of income.

It was a historic bill, one that paved the way for New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani to enact a similar program.

According to the Santa Fe New Mexican, enrollment in New Mexico’s government-provided child care centers jumped over the past year, with 15,000 new enrollees recorded since the program was launched. But waitlists are also growing as demand rapidly outpaces supply. And dire stories are emerging, such as Vox Media’s June 2026 story headlined “How to Screw Up Universal Childcare.”

So, what has gone wrong?

Expanding free child care to meet growing need isn’t as simple as opening new facilities and enrolling families. Early childhood education requires well-trained staff who are paid generously enough to remain on the job. And that appears to be the biggest obstacle to fully realizing New Mexico’s pioneering program and ensuring that all those who need child care get it.

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

A June 2026 report by the child advocacy group New Mexico Voices for Children (NM Voices), examined every aspect of child well-being in the state including “early childhood education” — which is the term preferred by advocates to describe child care. The report concluded that, in spite of great strides, New Mexico was falling short in serving the families who need most help, and urged policy makers to “build on recent progress by strengthening the early childhood workforce, expanding access to high-quality programs and ensuring students receive the academic and social supports they need to succeed.”

Enrollment in New Mexico’s government-provided child care centers jumped over the past year, with 15,000 new enrollees recorded.

Enrollment in New Mexico’s government-provided child care centers jumped over the past year, with 15,000 new enrollees recorded.

Matthew Henderson, executive director of OLÉ Education Fund, which helps organize child care workers, underscored how “the universal child care system is definitely something to celebrate, and we do celebrate it because it has given thousands of parents free child care, saving them tens of thousands of dollars.” And Gov. Lujan Grisham, who leaves office at the end of the year, has pinned her legacy to New Mexico’s early childhood education program and hopes it offers a model for the rest of the nation. She told the Associated Press, “My hope is, as we watch elections take hold around the country, that our congressional candidates are........

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