September 9, 2020
ECECD Action Will Support Parents and Child Care Providers
Today, the New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department (ECECD) announced that parent copayments for the Child Care Assistance program will be waived for the months of September and October. The department will cover the revenue child care programs would have received from parent copayments and will include this amount in their regular monthly reimbursement checks.
“The pandemic has created economic challenges for New Mexico families—and for child care providers. By waiving parents’ copayments, we’re making it easier for families to afford child care while ensuring providers continue to receive revenues,” said ECECD Cabinet Secretary Elizabeth Groginsky.
ECECD’s decision to waive copayments follows earlier initiatives intended to support families and sustain New Mexico’s child care industry during the pandemic, including offering free child care to essential workers and delivering wage incentives to more than 3,100 early childhood professionals.
More recently, the department has awarded Child Care Recovery and Stabilization Grants to approximately 500 licensed child care facilities in order to help the industry return to pre-pandemic strengths. ECECD is also partnering with the New Mexico Public Education Department (PED), the state’s Regional Educational Cooperatives (RECs), and the Child Care Resource and Referral agency at UNM to connect families who need child care with providers who can offer it.
In New Mexico, Child Care Assistance eligibility is up to 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level ($52,400 for a family of four); parents and caregivers can apply for assistance here.