New grant opportunity aims to create care capacity for 800 more New Mexico children

SANTA FE – Today, the New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department (ECECD) announced the launch of the New Mexico Child Care Supply Building Grant. The purpose of this funding opportunity is to build high-quality child care supply throughout New Mexico, especially in areas of the state considered child care deserts, where demand for care far outpaces capacity. Fifty-three percent of New Mexicans live in a child care desert, according to a report by the Center for American Progress (click here to view a map of child care deserts in New Mexico). Through the Child Care Supply Building Grant, the Lujan Grisham administration is investing $10 million to expand access and quality of these early childhood services to meet the needs of more New Mexico families, with funding made possible from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Child Care Stabilization Administration Funds.  

“The Lujan Grisham administration is committed to ensuring that every family can access high-quality early education and care regardless of income or zip-code,” said ECECD Cabinet Secretary Elizabeth Groginsky. “This $10 million investment will help boost child care supply in communities where it is needed most, providing care capacity for up to 800 more children across our state.” 

The New Mexico Child Care Supply Building Grant will provide funding for licensed child care providers to expand their existing programs and encourage statewide businesses to create or expand child care for their employees. ECECD estimates that this grant will create 800 child care slots across the state. Qualified applicants must:

• Propose to increase the supply of licensed, high-quality child care 
• Demonstrate the commitment and capacity to build proposed child care supply 
• Demonstrate the ability to open proposed licensed child care within six months of award  
• Commit to operating the proposed child care for at least 10 years 
• Commit to operating the proposed child care at ECECD’s 5-Star group size and ratio requirements   

"In addition to providing tuition-free college for working parents through the New Mexico Opportunity Scholarship, expanding access to quality child care on college and university campuses is key to helping students with children succeed," said New Mexico Higher Education Department Secretary Stephanie M. Rodriguez. "We encourage our many campus-based child care and early childhood education centers to apply for these funds to make more child care slots available within the communities they serve." 

ECECD is currently accepting Letters of Interest (LOI) for the Child Care Supply Building Grant, which will open on June 10, 2022. LOIs that demonstrates the ability to increase access to child care will receive a link from the New Mexico Finance Authority via email with access and instructions on how to complete a full application within 30 days of submitting an LOI. Click here to learn more about starting your own child care business.  

Applications for Child Care Supply Building Grant will be considered on a rolling basis and funds awarded will be subject to the requirements and restrictions outlined in the Information Memorandum related to the ARPA Child Care Stabilization and ECECD’s 5-star capacity and group ratio as detailed in the FOCUS Essential Elements. 

For more information about the New Mexico Child Care Supply Building Grant, visit https://www.nmececd.org/2022/05/20/new-mexico-child-care-supply-building-grant/