Jun. 4—When Felix Otero first got custody of his young daughter, Destiny, about two years ago, he didn't have family around to watch her while he went to work.

He would bring her to Big O Tires where he is a service manager, and she would hang out in the office during his shift. But Destiny would often wander out looking for him and Otero realized he had to come up with another plan.

He tried four different child care centers — one he felt wasn't mindful enough of her special needs since she has spina bifida, another was down in the South Valley and had them waking up at 3 or 4 a.m. to commute from the other side of town — before finding East Gate Kids Early Learning Center.

It cost $780 a month but Otero felt it was worth it.

"I just started paying and didn't have much food in the house, didn't have much money for her," Otero recalled. "Like when she would get out of day care ... and was 'Daddy, I'm hungry.' I'd be like, 'Yeah, OK, let's get something to eat.' I'd get her like a burger and a drink and I wouldn't eat anything. I'd eat, like, noodles at home. It was pretty rough."

In July 2021, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced an expansion of the income eligibility levels to qualify for the state's child care assistance program.

The Lujan Grisham administration then expanded the free child care program eligibility again in April 2022 by eliminating co-pays for families making at or below 400% of the federal poverty line — or $120,000 a year for a family of four. Previously only those making at or below 200% of the federal poverty line qualified.

Last month, the state Early Childhood Education and Care Department announced it was extending the policy indefinitely. If the co-payments are reinstated, the department has said families and providers will get a three-month warning.

The child care expansion was paid for over its first two years with roughly $320 million in federal stimulus dollars, but lawmakers this year approved using state dollars from several different sources — including an opioid settlement fund — to keep the initiative running.

As for Otero, he used his lunch break to attend the 2022 news conference, announcing the expansion at East Gate Kids. Then he filled out the paperwork to get approved for free child care.

Otero, who spoke with the Journal in mid-April, said not having to pay for child care over the past year "has been amazing." He bought a bigger vehicle — a Ford Explorer — that could be wheelchair accessible in case Destiny needed one.

"She's been having some issues with her legs, of course, but you know that helps me provide for that as well — to put a little bit more money into what she needs, like braces," Otero said. "She's more happy. She got new shoes just recently now, too, new clothes, a little like necklace. If I'd been paying day care, I wouldn't have been able to provide that."

Destiny, now 7 years old, is one of more than 27,000 children — roughly 2/3 of whom are under the age of 6 — receiving free child care under the expanded child care assistance program from the state's Early Childhood Education and Care Department, according to data provided by the department.

That's an increase of about 7,000 over the past year, although about 76% of families receiving assistance are at or below 200% of the federal poverty line.

Gabrielle Wheeler, the executive director at East Gate Kids, said about 80% of the children at the center are receiving free care. She said if the income requirements change back, they would expect 15% to 20% of families would no longer be eligible for assistance.

In an interview last month, ECECD Secretary Elizabeth Groginsky said the administration expanded the number of families eligible for free child care because it was still out of reach for so many.

"We knew that if we didn't expand eligibility, one, more centers who are serving these children would not have access to those higher revenues because what they would get is what parents could afford to pay," Groginsky said. "Two, we knew that so many families are not accessing care because they can't even afford what the child care program is charging them."

Child care deserts

While the lives of Otero and his daughter have been vastly improved by receiving free child care, others around the state are not always able to access those services.

Groginsky said most areas around New Mexico qualify as "child care deserts" where there are more than three children who need care for every available slot.

"Santa Fe is a definite, big desert for infant/toddler care, there's almost no infant/toddler care that's available in the city," she said. "When I was down in Silver City last year on the spring tour, folks came to me and said, 'We have absolutely no school-age care in this community.'"

Groginsky said the state has been able to use federal dollars to help people start child care centers, pay staff and get families enrolled over their first six months — which she expects to create more than 1,600 new slots.

She said the state is also expanding its pre-K program, working with rural school districts to see how they can start taking care of 3-year-olds, and is looking to hire someone to do a comprehensive gap analysis of the child care supply so it will have a complete picture.

A Facebook page for "Las Cruces moms" is peppered with questions about child care with many reporting that all centers are at capacity.

One mother in Las Cruces told the Journal she qualifies for free care for her child — under the age of 3 — but she couldn't find a center without a "massive waitlist." One had 135 children on it, she said.

Another said she qualified for free child care and was able to find a provider for her toddler, but not her infant.

The ECECD provided data showing that, of the 20,870 applications for free child care that it received and granted since the program was expanded in April 2022, 8.67% of applicants — or 1,810 families — had not yet said where their child will enroll.

"We can't say for certain what the reasons are that these applicants haven't found a provider yet, but I think it would be reasonable to assume that a certain percentage is still searching for a provider that has availability and meets their specific needs," said ECECD spokesman Micah McCoy.

Eligibility

Using demographic information, the department estimates as many as 72,388 children under the age of 6 — or 42,581 families — around the state are eligible for free child care, based on income.

But only about 26% — 19,324 children under the age of 6 or 11,367 families — are receiving those services, according to data from ECECD.

McCoy said there are lots of reasons why people may not need free child care even if they fall within the income guidelines.

"They don't have a need or desire for the service because they want to stay home with their kids," McCoy said. "Or maybe they have extended family nearby and it is easy for them to have child care with relatives and friends and family, that kind of thing."

And there are reasons why some cannot take advantage of the program.

"Some people may not know about the services, there may be a gap there," McCoy said. "Then for some people there may not be access for child care in their area. If you live on a ranch in the middle of Catron County, where the nearest child care center is a two-hour drive away or something, you might be eligible but that's not a practical service for you."

A little more than half — 1,032 — of all child care providers in the state are homes where someone takes care of up to four children and is registered with the ECECD to get support such as food reimbursements. Only about a third of those homes receive a subsidy through the child care assistance program as of March, McCoy said.

Of the remaining 983 providers in the state, including child care centers, licensed child care group homes and licensed child care homes, about 77% — or 755 — facilities are receiving subsidies.

McCoy said of the licensed providers who are not receiving the subsidy, some might be below the two-star rating needed to qualify or they accept a subsidy but don't have any placements at this time.

Making ends meet

In Alamogordo, Nancy Hudson, the chief executive officer of Children in Need of Services — a nonprofit child care organization that cares for approximately 400 children across four centers — said before the expansion of the assistance program, she had to keep the monthly rate low so parents could afford it.

"I had one center at 60% private pay and until Secretary Groginsky made this happen we were running in the red for over a year since COVID," Hudson said.

She said that changed last year when the assistance program was expanded since the subsidy the center receives for each child is higher than the rates they could charge families.

"Now we're able to make ends meet at that center because we do have a subsidy there and more parents are on taking advantage of the no-copay," Hudson said.

In mid-May she said the centers have a "huge waitlist" as they work to get more staff on board.

"We are addressing that waitlist as quickly as we can get to it," Hudson said. "But we also train our staff very carefully, and we have a very lengthy training program before they get into a classroom. In rural New Mexico, we are required to grow our own professionals."

Making the cut

In Las Cruces, Viridiana Valadez first applied for child care assistance several years ago for her middle child.

Earning around $42,000 a year at the time she said she was horrified to learn she made $27 more than the cut-off mark to qualify and ended up paying $800 a month for child care.

When Valadez, who is a program supervisor for a nonprofit organization, heard the child care assistance program was expanded she applied again and after a couple of months she was told she qualified.

She now sends her two youngest children — ages 5 and 14 weeks — to the Alpha School Inc., down the street from their home.

Ray Jaramillo, the owner and director of the school told the Journal that about 91% of the children in his care are getting assistance. He said more than 100 children are on the waitlist and he tells parents it could be up to three years before they can get their child in.

For Valadez and her children, though, the experience has been "amazing."

"At first my daughter had a lot of the separation anxiety because it was COVID — we were home all day every day, it was expected," Valadez said. "But after that the teachers have been awesome. They've been very welcoming, very patient."

What to know

The state of New Mexico recently extended its expanded free child care program. Here's what you need to know if you are looking for free child care.

Who is eligible for free child care? Families earning up to 400% of the federal poverty line who have circumstances — such as work or school — that require them to need child care. For a family of four, this means households making less than $120,000.

What ages are the children who can get free child care? The child care assistance program applies to infants through 3-year-olds, as well as those who need care before or after school from kindergarten through fifth grade.

How do I apply for assistance? Visit the New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department website: www.nmececd.org/apply-for-services

How do I find a provider who takes assistance? Visit the New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department's Child Care Finder: https://childcare.ececd.nm.gov/search

What are the qualifications for a child care provider to be eligible to receive subsidies? It must be a registered provider or a licensed provider that is rated at 2 stars or above (out of 5).

What are the challenges for parents? Parents are reporting that many child care providers have long waitlists and many parts of the state are "child care deserts" where there are more than three children who need care for every available slot. The state is working on increasing providers.

What are the challenges for child care providers? Getting enough staff can be a challenge for providers, especially in rural parts of the state. In early May, the Early Childhood Education and Care Department announced it will raise the rates it provides centers for child care assistance, which should allow them to continue to fund a minimum wage of $15 per hour for employees.